Sunrise, Come Again
by cHixOr Neko
Summary: Post Endless Waltz. All the pilots moved on to bigger and better things, except Duo, now working as an assassin. But do the others even know he's still alive? Established 3x4 futurepast 1x2 and 5xS.
1. Chapter 1

A.N. This is my first actual fic that I'm proud of. Tell what you think of it, or any suggestions, as I am always open to constructive criticism.

Summary: Post Endless Waltz, the pilots have all moved on, all keeping in touch except for Duo who now has a rather 'riskay' profession. A week before Christmas he is found by an unexpected someone.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing…if I did, the show would have been a lot yummier.

**Sunrise, Come Again.**

By: Chix0r Neko

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After the war, all of us pilots went into different job markets. Quatre, of course stayed on L4, his life brimming with meetings full of the snobby, high-class businessmen he worked with to keep Winner Enterprises intact. The last I heard he was trying to close some big deal with the L2 committee to incorporate numerous charity groups from Winner Enterprises to the orphanages there. Call me crazy, but I had a feeling this was less about feeling guilty about war orphans than it was because of me. The poor orphan none of them had heard from in three years. I actually wondered if he was still trying to find me, or help the new street rats and war orphans. We were, after all, the cause of most of them.

Trowa was, of course, self-employed at the moment and working on L4 as Quatre's personal sex-slave and formal male escort. I guess all that teasing about them having those nightly shag-fests during the Wars finally got to them so they decided to make with the gossip and screw each other silly. And FYI, I had every right to assume they were doing it during the war. I happen to have a 6th sense for sex and it was definitely tingling when they shared a room.

Both Heero and Wufei joined the Preventers with the help of Lady Une. I'm amazed they can work with her as a superior. I mean damn, I'd be scared as hell that she'd have one of her mood swings and shove a pencil up my…Okay, never mind. I don't really want to think about that at the moment and I'm getting a little off base here…Une…such a scary lady…

Eh heh, anyway, as far as I can tell all the pilots seem to be adjusting well to life without the every demanding call of War. Wufei, the traitor, went soft on us all and got married to Sally. It was a beautiful ceremony even if I did have to watch it from the roof of a building about a hundred feet away with binoculars and popcorn.

I'm willing to put down big bucks that Sally and Wuffers' had some big argument about whether to have it be a traditional Chinese ceremony or a regular American one. However, I'm also ready to throw down a few more hundred to say he caved and let her have whatever her little heart desired to make that day special to her. Wufei's like that you know. He'd easily whipped.

I sat on the top of that building smiling like a loon. Even though I wasn't there I felt like I was some how sharing some special moment with all the pilots. The whole idea was reinforced when I saw those Prussian eyes glancing back near the entrance every 3 minutes and 45 seconds. I almost felt bad. I figured they'd know by now that Shinigami was not ready to come out of hiding. Or that he was dead, I wasn't quite sure about that yet. Truth be told, I didn't really care.

But may I ask, who can really blame me? After the war, everyone had someone to turn to. Something to come home to. A steady job and place to live where the landlord wasn't breathing down your neck every other day for the rent. And me? Hell, I was getting paid to shoot, and run. That's right ladies and gentlemen. Meet Duo Maxwell, paid assassin and thief extraordinaire, at your service.

However at the moment, I'm sure all the other pilots have me bested as well. I'm guessing due to the time that Quatre and Trowa are at home screwing like bunnies, Wufei and Sally are cuddling on the couch, and Heero and Relena are doing…god knows what. I really don't even want to think about that last one. Makes my head hurt just thinking about it… Sigh, when does Duo get some love? When do I get to stop running down this alley, trying to get away from the person I was supposed to have shot a half hour ago? Come on, I'm drunk, did you really expect me to hit him my first try?

Now any other time I would gracefully accept defeat, stop running and then stab the poor guy when he was lecturing me about death. But as I told you before, I'm drunk. And if there's one thing I do know about myself it's this. I do **_very_** stupid things when I'm drunk.

I've been doing pretty stupid things since the war ended though, even when I'm sober. Unlike everyone else, I had nowhere to turn to. I didn't even have a clue on how to get an honest job making honest money. The war _was_ my life. It was, though disgusting, the only real home I'd had, and it contained the only real family that survived living with me. But they all left, for bigger and better things. So I left too. Only I'm still under the influence of the military.

My full job description is actually to 'protect' the people left over from the war who were the founders and keepers of the peace. Example? Relena Peacecraft, bitch extraordinaire A.K.A Pacifist.

It wasn't really all that bad of a job. I got to see the guys a lot more than they think I did. Almost every other week I got to see at least one of them. Since they were all pretty much, officially or unofficially, working with the Preventers, I'd get wind of an assignation attempt on a Pacifist and take the guy out before he had a chance to complete his task.

Usually they have some of the Preventers on the defense too, no matter how sucky it may be. Now I'm not here to bad mouth the Preventers, but the they just go about this whole protection thing the wrong way. They stake out, get all coordinated with each other, stay close to the target, and wait for the shooting to happen. I'm sorry but that's just not the way to go. You gonna nic that thing in the bud. Or as I like to say, shove shit down their throat and watch 'em die BEFORE any shooting happens.

See the Preventers make their lives so much harder by adding so many steps to this protection thing. I do it the easy Maxwell way. My whole job in four simple steps. 1.) Find out where the hits going to take place. Not hard, usually provided for me. 2.) Locate target and assailant. 3.) Shoot assailant before target is eliminated. 4.) Run away before 'the fuzz' takes charge.

That's exactly what I was doing tonight; the only difference in the line up was that the stupid fucker was late. I mean, really, really late.

The 'sting,' as I like to call it, was supposed to go down in this strip bar on L2. I recognized it immediately as a place I used to hide out and so did a number of the dancers. A few actually came up and gave me a light hug before whispering, "What took you so long, Hon?" I didn't really know what else to say, so I just smiled back at them, giving them a little wink before going back about my business. My business being ordering shot after shot of Jack Daniels waiting for Mr. Takumei to show the fuck up.

Two hours and 10 shots later, I was very drunk, half naked, and I may as well have been dancing on the bar. If there was one thing that I gained from the wars that I'd enjoy during my 'real life,' it was my new found ability to drink unnatural amounts of alcohol. I'd never lost a drinking contest to anyone, except maybe Heero. You'd think that Wufei would be the master with his self-control, but I found that to be negative during the wars. Though it does take a lot to get him drunk, he was am amateur compared to Heero and me.

I'd started the night out thinking this was going to be an easy in and out job, when in fact, after the three whole hours I had been waiting, I managed to fuck it up in less than ten minutes.

When he came in through the door I recognized him immediately. Just because I was out of it didn't mean I had lost sight of my man or forgotten why I came here in the first place. Reason being Mr. Takumei.

I tell you though. I'd only just seen this guy and I could already tell he was the biggest fucking asshole I've ever had the pleasure to hunt down and slaughter. He sauntered through the damn door. I'm dead serious, not exaggerating this story at all. He sauntered over to the bar and calmly ordered a drink. I tell you, I didn't even know assholes came in this model.

I hate people like this guy. I could tell already that I was going to have one of my sick pleasure killings with this guy. I hated him already, and I hated him and I hadn't even met the man yet. I hated his stupid hair, all slicked back with something resembling Crisco. I hated his stupid shiny shoes. I hated his stupid designer brand suit. And most of all, I hated his eyes. They matched a little to closely to a certain someone's. That's just unforgivable. That color fucking belongs to Heero. There should be no person in the world with that color other than him. And by god, I'd hunt down every one of those poor fools with that eye color and slaughter them myself. Just so Heero could have something that would be his own.

The question was however, how the hell am I gonna able to avenge my love without breaking every bone in my body?

Even through my drunken gaze, I could still tell this guy was going to give me some trouble. Weren't Asians supposed to be short? I mean goddamn this guy had some height to him! He couldn't have been shorter than 6 ft. I vaguely thought to myself 'oh great, I get to take down a guy who's got at least a couple heads taller than me and looks like he could out weigh me by twice my body weight.

I am sad to say, I never really grew that much after the war. Yes, I'll be a little pip-squeak my whole life. It's pretty sad to think that I'm a twenty-one year old man and I'm only 5'6 and weigh 105 lbs. Honestly, I really did think I should put a little more weight on. People in my business never like or tend to admit this unless they have to, but if your on a job and something goes wrong, if the guy is bigger than you then you might as well kiss your life goodbye if he gets a hold of you. Cause dammit, I don't care how strong you are you aint getting away. Just put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye. It'd be over pal. But that's not to say there's nothing good about being ungodly skinny in this business. You can slip your way out of a lot of things if you're too small to be noticed.

Anyway, here's the 411 about what was supposed to be going down tonight. The plan was Mr. Takumei showing up at about quarter to seven, sitting down and ordering a couple drinks. I'm sorry to say that the head honcho of this operation wasn't making his appearance yet. He hired some chick to do it for him.

I can only assume that she was a woman looking for a way to make a couple easy bucks on the side of her everyday job. With the business these women were in, I couldn't really say I'd blamed them. If I were still in that business, if someone offered me some quick cash to deliver some stupid disk, I'd be sitting down next to the guy rubbing his knee saying 'tell me more.'

When I staked the place out a couple nights before I hauled up in my little corner out looking to see which one of the ladies seemed new around the place. It didn't take me long to find her.

She was a young girl. Couldn't have been more than 25 but I wouldn't say young enough to be any younger than 20. It didn't take much to loosen her lips up a bit. You see when you're dealing with people like this you gotta remember. The information goes to the highest bidder. And the guy who put her up to this certainly chinced her a bit on the cash and it didn't take much to convince her to see things my way.

All it took was five hundred credits and a check signed to Ms. Kitty and the disk was mine. Not only that, but she promised to stay away from the bar the night she was supposed to make the drop.

When Mr. Takumei settled down at the bar I couldn't help but smirk knowing he wasn't going anywhere for a while. At least I thought he wasn't going anywhere at the time, and the only place I thought I'd be going was out of that door after I shot his brains all over the bar. But things didn't work out like that. There's always something that must be taken into account for no matter what. Murphy's law. If something can go wrong, it will go wrong.

As you know, I'd been there a tad longer than he had been. Quite frankly, I can safely say without a doubt, my bladder was going to rupture if it wasn't emptied soon. And since I figured he wasn't going any where for the time being, I decided to slip off to the men's room to empty my bladder and sober up a little bit before I took him out.

I will reiterate. That is not, _not,_ how it went down. Murphy's law had struck indefinitely.

Sure, I did get to go pee. Yes, I did get to splash a little water on my face to try to gain a little sobriety, but something happened after that. Something happened as I leaned over the sink and grabbed a few brown paper towels from the dispenser next to that rust stained sink. After briefly wiping the droplets of water off my face, by some slim chance I glanced up at the mirror.

Mr. Takumei had arrived in the men's room shortly after me.

A thousand little thoughts began running their way through my mind spouting things like 'oh shit' and 'fuck' and 'hey, I have a gun in my pocket…and my targets all alone with me in the bathroom.' Do we have to guess which one won my drunken mind over?

I can't say for sure, but I'm pretty sure when I actually made my move I looked like something out of an old cheesy Kung foo movie. 'Hello Mr. Takumei, I am the one you will be facing now, no one else, nothing else on the line, except your families honor! Mwahahaha!' …No I didn't really say that (thank god) but it was something as sad as this…

I could feel that stupid grin growing on my face as I raised my head. I stood straight, looking into the mirror to find that not only was the grin there, but there was Mr. Takumei, staring at my reflection.

This is the part where I turn into the killing machine. I've realized in the past that during my 'stings' I'm no longer Duo Maxwell. Hell, I'm barely even the god of death anymore. I turned into something that would give Heero a run for his money. I was a fucking killing machine. I was like the fucking Pillsbury Doughboy on cocaine. Just need someone to poke my stomach and I'll go teehee! Then kick some terrorist ass. Wow, isn't that irony?

In any other situation, at any other time. This guy would have had a bullet in his head the second he walked through the bathroom door, and I'd be pulling the loose change out of his pockets. However, this time, I'd forgotten a few fundamentals of assassination and I was really starting to hate Mr. Jack Daniels.

I'd missed that shot by a fucking mile at least and before I knew it the bastard jumped me. In the technical term I would say that he ran at me and we both fell on the floor. But in Duo-nese I'd say it was about 188 lbs. of fucking steel lunging at my chest and slamming my head onto the floor, and knocking my gun under the sinks. In all honesty, I lost the ability to breath for a minute. But shh, don't tell. I'm trying to keep this 'I'm not afraid of you or your big strong muscles act up.'

When that big lug got on top of me I thought I would die. If not for the idea of it, then the smell on his breathe. This guy was fucking wasted. Ha, wasted, doesn't that bring back some good war memories.

One big aspect in my line of work is definitely be able to think on your feet. Or in my case, on your back. And think my love, I can do.

I personally think that Mr. Takumei responded quite well to the fact that he may never be able to have babies again. Slamming a knee into someone's crotch can do that you know, but he took it like a man and only groaned a bit, curling in on himself. I kicked him in the stomach, forcing him up enough to where I could slip out from under that weight and let my lungs have some much needed air while giving him a few swift kicks in the ribs for good measure, and to ensure he wouldn't be moving any time soon.

Grabbing onto his slicked hair, I kicked open the nearest stall and proceeded to drag him into it. Drowning wasn't exactly my favorite way to dispose of people. Sure it wasn't really messy or anything, but drowning someone just seems dirtier to me. I'd much rather shoot someone in the head and have it be over with instantly. Drowning someone…it feels like it takes a lifetime to hold them under, waiting for the air to be flushed out from their bodies. You can feel them fighting the whole time, gasping for air as you take their last breaths. But I must say, death by toilet gave drowning a rather appealing flavor.

I'll never forget the look on that fuckers face when I kicked the back of his knees to force him down in from of the porcelain goddess that would soon become his last sight in this world. I probably should have been making sure he didn't have an opportunity to escape, but I wasn't. The only thing I could think of at that moment was 'wow…what a way to go.'

I'll admit, it wasn't my usual style, but hell, I'll try anything once.

"Please don't do this…who are you?" Sighing, I loosen my grip on his hair a little bit. It would figure. The tough scene is just an act. It's always the big, tall guys who give the definition of pansy a whole new meaning.

"I'm just your friendly neighborhood God of Death. But you can call me Santa Clause." I replied, regaining my grip and lifted up the seat of the toilet. "I mean think about it, Santa, Satan, rearrange some letters and you've got the real culprit don'tca?" (1)

And with that, Mr. Takumei went down the hatch. Taking a large chunk of his hair between my fingers I pushed his head down into the stale water. Definitely an unsanitary way to die.

I felt him struggling against me, thrashing his head about, trying to get free. Keeping one hand on his head, I grabbed his searching hands and forced them behind his back. Searching for the flusher…I swear people just love to make my job harder.

It was then I realized that I had begun singing. The death march was starting, so I knew he'd be dead soon. I never recall starting, but I always have a little tune going right at the moment when the struggle has become fierce. It's always a different song, and it's always sung in a calm voice. If I wasn't there to witness it, I would no believe my voice was capable of producing sounds such as those.

The tune this time was slow, soft and sung in my own way. Slow and deliberate, just like his death, drunken slurs and all. _"Hey…I've come to snuff the rooster…" _

I felt the jerky movements from the lack of air but didn't release my hold. I'm sad to say that I did let my guard down, and I let it down very badly. I should have known that a man of Takumei's power, and authority in the drug, terrorist, and OZ supporting world would never give up that easy. All in all, I didn't respond all that well to never being able to have children.

The second his foot connected with my groin I dropped him like a sack of potatoes. Two seconds later, he was out the door and I was hobbling out the door trying to get my gun into the back of my pants.

As I looked around the darkened bar I noticed that Mr. Takumei had up and left all together.

God fucking dammit. I had broke so many of my own fucking rules that night I should be locked up. The simple four step death method I had worked to perfect was turning into a ten step nightmare. Where does it fucking say to let your target kick you in the nuts and run away!? Well I'll tell you. In the Drunk Duo Assassination Squad that's were.

I didn't have anytime to think though. I had to go find him before he got somewhere to tell his big official man what had happened. So running out of the bar, that's where I made another fatal mistake. This one however was not just from my own book of rules, but from the war as well. Never, and I mean never let your guard down.

The board connected with my head in a sickening crack, causing me to fall to my knees, grasping the back of my head with my hands to feel the spreading wetness that begun there.

I didn't even put up a fight as he drug me into that alley and threw me down on my back. I couldn't think, and I couldn't breath. But it was the damnedest thing. When I was laying there, on the cold, dirty, alley floor, I felt a calm. I wasn't scared, I didn't panic, and I couldn't feel the sharp pains coming from the back of my head. Just laying there, the only thing I could feel was the steady weight being pressed against me. The only sound I could hear was the gunshot.

I stared into the lifeless face laying on top of me, a little trail of smoke still trailing from the barrel of the gun and the shot ringing in my ears. I didn't care about the blood that splattered on my face, or the lifeless body pinning me down. The song. That's all I cared about. I don't remember when I began singing again, but at the moment, it didn't really matter…

"_Hey…I've come to snuff the rooster…"_

End Chapter 1

1: This is kind of from the movie "Detroit Rock City." An excellent film where in one part they get a preacher/minister…some religious church guy high, and he's laughing about Santa…Satan…. same letters…. SAME GUY!

Alright people. Honestly, I need the feedback!! It's like…my life source…the will to go on! This will eventually be a 1X2 fic, and I think in the next chapter I'll be heading more into the lives of Heero and the other pilots, what they think happened to Duo, ect. ect. However if you have any suggestions please let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

A.N. Six reviews so far -- not too bad, but I'm glad to see some people like the story, I swear, it gets better as the plot goes on. Heero POV this time with a little of Duo POV at the end.

Summary: Post Endless Waltz, the pilots have all moved on, all keeping in touch except for Duo who now has a rather 'riskay' profession. A week before Christmas he is found by an unexpected someone.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing…if I did, the show would have been a lot yummier.

**Sunrise, Come Again.**

**Chapter 2**

By: Chix0r Neko

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If there is one thing I learned from my experiences with Duo, it is that your entire life can change in the course of thirty seconds. And while Duo had given me the most breath taking and extraordinary moments of my life, I'll always remember the exact moment it was all taken away. I will always remember those thirty seconds.

_"You're going after her?!" _

_"I have to Duo…"_

_"Bull shit, Heero! You don't owe her anything!"_

_"I owe her everything…"_

That, right there, was the moment. I thought those were the worst twenty seconds of my life. I was wrong. The look of horror, of undisguised pain that maimed Duo's face was. I could only look at him for ten seconds before turning around, and walking out of the door, and unknowingly, his life. I think I realized at that moment that I could never take what I said back. The sobs that came from behind me as Duo fell to the floor and began screaming for me to come back confirmed it.

But I also knew that what I had to do. Without peace I could never be able to live fully. Relena was necessary for that peace. That's why I said what I did. I did owe her everything. Without her, I wouldn't have Duo, and without the peace she helped keep, I wouldn't have been given the best two years of my entire life.

Not that the last fifteen years of my life had much to compare it with, but that didn't matter. Because we were making something. Sure, it took the better part of six months to get Duo to trust me again after Libra, but once he did and allowed me to get close to him again, I was the happiest I had ever been. I realize now I should have shown him that while I still had the chance.

After the Mariemaia uprising things changed between us again. We both knew this time was different. That we were both lucky to be alive and that this time there could be peace.

Duo was a bit sore at me for punching him, but I honestly hadn't intended it to be that hard. I had intended it to be harder. Hard enough that he would keep his ass out of trouble for the rest of the fucking time. But oh no, not Duo. I knew I would have to use force to get him out of the way no matter how much I wouldn't like it. His safety was more important than that. But no, not Duo. I gave him a punch that honestly would have knocked me out for at least ten minutes, and he gets up determined to get in my way.

But everything turned out fine. I woke up at a hospital. I never really liked hospitals, so I checked myself out and went to look for the others. It wasn't long before I was graced with an armload of an energetic Duo raining kisses all over my face and neck, and the shocked looks of the whole world. But in the sheer bliss of the moment, I didn't care about anyone but Duo. I forgot about the cameras and reporters and grabbed the back of Duo's neck and crushed our lips together.

That night we made slow, sweet love on Peacemillion. That was the night I finally realized what I was feeling. That this ache in my chest was no longer just lust, or a liking of Duo. Somewhere along that crazy road, it turned into love. It was the night I realized I loved Duo. Ironically enough that was the same night my still beating heart was ripped out of my chest by the half crazed God of Death. Life's just a bitch isn't it?

After collapsing on top of Duo in a pile of sweaty limbs, I slowly pulled away and rolled onto the bed next to him. I pulled him, still panting, so that his back laid across my chest, spooning him to me as I wrapped my arms around him to insure he wasn't going anywhere.

It was that moment that should have been the best moment of my life. The moment when I tucked his hair behind one ear, and whispered softly, "I love you, Duo."

I didn't expect him to say it back. It wasn't that, that had bothered me. It was feeling his body go rigid, and waking up to an empty bed that bothered me.

The situation took a minute to connect. I was half hoping this was just a sick joke and that he'd be back in my arms soon. But after ten minutes of him not coming back, I pulled the sheets off my naked body and started to look around the room for him. Maybe he was just in the bathroom, combing his hair or something and didn't want to wake me.

He wasn't. When I returned to the bed I saw what I had missed. A glint of gold across a small picture frame. Inside was the picture he had drawn for me last Christmas. We were both looking out a window into the vast darkness of space, hand in hand. Only it had a new edition to it this time around. The new dark jumbled letters that were strewn across it. '_I don't want you to die.'_

I felt the salty wetness running down my cheeks, but did nothing to stop them.

Duo was gone. He'd left me.

With a shaky hand I reached out to grab the glint of gold I'd seen. It was his cross. In all the years I've known Duo he barely even allowed me to look at it, let alone touch it. And now he was giving to me.

That's how I knew he was never coming back. That's also how I knew I would never fall in love again. You can't love without a heart and mine had been ripped viciously from my chest.

All that shit about loving is just what I said, shit. All this bullshit about 'it's better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all,' my ass. I'd only been in love a day and it hurt like fuck! It was worse than when he had shot me. I mean that in all honesty. The pain I was feeling now was nothing compared to that.

I don't remember how long I sat in that bathtub, but it was long enough for Trowa to come in after me. He pulled my head above the water and just sat along the side of the tub, not pressing anything. I can see why Duo liked Trowa so much.

The tears had started falling again. You know, I didn't know much about this crying thing, but I tell you now, it will most definitely not become a habit. But today, I think I could make an exception.

"Duo's gone." My voice was raspy, and choked up. Never in my life had I felt so weak before.

"I know." Trowa replied softly. He was fiddling with Duo's cross and frankly, looking quite uncomfortable. I wondered if he really came in here on his own or if it was due to Quatre's persuasion.

Shifting to the side to look at me, I could see the sympathy raining over his pores and it almost made me sick to my stomach. I didn't need anyone's sympathy.

"…It's going to be alright." He said, leaning foreword to clasp the chain around my neck. "We will find him." Yes we would find him. And when we do, I'm going to kill him.

After that I suppose you could say I lost the will to live. Sure I had the peace, but I didn't have Duo to share it with. We all looked for him. Not to yell or scream at him, or try to make him feel bad, because after reading the note the meaning was clear. I only wanted to find him so I could tie him up so he'd never be able to leave me again.

'_I don't want you to die…'_ That was a quote from his nightmares if I ever heard one. When we sent our Gundams into the sun, I remember holding him against my chest, feeling his small frame shaking. "Why does everything I love get taken away?" I suppose I could forgive Duo. His leaving was his way of saying, "I love you too."

But after six months of non-stop searching, the others began to lose hope. Knowing Duo it wouldn't be hard to believe he died doing some stupid stunt while guilt stricken. I just didn't want to believe it.

I settled down. I hated it, but I realized after a while that it was necessary. Quatre and Trowa were both on L4 working with WEI, and Wufei was there with the Preventers. It seemed like the best place to go.

It was sad leaving Earth behind. But I knew that I could never live there alone. So I moved with the masses, and joined up at the Preventers.

For the time when I had just moved there I had been living with Wufei in his apartment on 7th street. It was an old building with vines growing up the sides but beautiful nonetheless. Une partnered us up and I've been working there ever since. Of course, I did move out when I got a stable income, so now instead of living with Wufei, I live next to him.

Joining up at the Preventers had been the right thing to do. I didn't really know how to do anything else, and this way at least people will benefit from what I do as a living. There were, of course, boring aspects of the job but that comes with everything. I suppose that's what lead me to now. Sitting at my desk, across from Wufei, bouncing my pencils eraser on and off the desk. I hate paper work.

"Don't you have anything better to do with your time than that?" Wufei growled, pushing his glasses down his nose to give me a sharp glare. He hadn't been in the best of moods lately. With Sally pregnant and her weird cravings and mood swings he seemed awfully tense. 'Two months…' I reminded myself. 'Just two months until she has the baby and he gets leave…'

"I don't actually." I stopped my bouncing pencil for a minute to meet Wufei's dark eyes. "Because see, I wasn't the one who shot that guy, so why should I have to do the paper work on it?"

The last mission hadn't gone well. There had been an ongoing drug deal going forth between all the colonies major drug lords. New drugs. They called it Angel's Fury. It had an effect on the physical abilities of the person who was injected by it, lifting their strength, stamina, and mental capacity. Of course after two shots of this you wouldn't even have a mind left to think with.

The murder rate of the colonies had jumped up ten percent in less than five months. When Relena and the rest of the Earth Sphere heard about that they decided to consult us.

It had been seven weeks of long, grueling research, but eventually we found a guy who could tell us what we needed to know. His name was Daniel Ross. We found him drunk, and doped up on L1. But as I said, finding him wasn't the problem. It was getting the bastard into custody.

The second we approached him he attacked and I couldn't take him down without seriously injuring him. That didn't seem to bother Wufei a bit. He just pulled out his gun, and fired two shots. The first one hit a thirty or so old man hiding in the corner, only wanting to drink his way out of his mid-life crisis. The other hit Ross's kneecap.

Unfortunately because a civilian was involved there was paper work.

I could almost feel the come back Wufei was about to give me, but as soon as he opened his mouth with a clever retort the door opened and Noin walked in.

"Yuy, Chang." She nodded towards the door, and walked out. We in turn, sighed and went to follow her into her office.

"Shut the door." Noin said, and began opening drawers and pulling out a thick manila folder. She sat it down in front of her and crossed her arms over it.

"There was a murder on L2 two days ago." I can only imagine the look I gave her. There were murders on L2 every ten minutes.

"What does that have to do with us?" Wufei asked, Noin sighed.

"This murder, concerns me." She said ducking her head a bit. "Yuy, I believe you gave your gun to Duo after the War, didn't you?"

"Yes." I had given Duo my gun. There really hadn't been anything I cared about except that gun. So when the Gundams were to be destroyed I gave it to Duo, trying to make him feel better.

"…L2 police found this."

That day changed my life. It gave us all a new hope. Either Duo was alive, or God was playing a sick joke on us. Because there she was. My old gun, sitting on the table in front of me.

Alright, I admit it. Leaving the gun (not to mention the fucking body) there was not part of the plan. It was not particularly a good idea either. But I honestly don't remember it! I don't even remember killing the guy! The only thing I remember was waking up in an unfamiliar apartment to a pounding headache and a pair of keys jabbing into my side.

After spending the morning, showering, throwing up, and taking painkillers I found a wallet in my pocket. With Mr. Takumei's ID in it. When I saw that, the only words going through my mind were, oh…fuck…

A late afternoon news program confirmed it. I killed the fucker and left him in an alley. Luckily the police didn't know who he was yet. Dental records weren't going to do them any good seeing as how he had no teeth left, and body appearance wouldn't do any good either. When you leave something like meat in an L2 alley, you can pretty much be assured it would be half eaten by starving cats, dogs, or rats within three hours. Lucky for me that fact stood true.

Unluckily for me, they would find out eventually. And that only meant one solution, I had to get off this colony.

End Chapter 2

A.N. Alright! The introductory phase is over! Now we can really let the story begin. Don't forget to leave a review! Also if anyone has any ideas they are much appreciated. P.S. Sorry about the botched Heero POV. He's not my strong point, Duo is, but it was necessary for me to tell the Heero/Duo background story!


	3. Chapter 3

A.N. Omg it's been forever! But now that I've finished even worse I will work on this story much more. Trowa POV

Summary: Post Endless Waltz, the pilots have all moved on, all keeping in touch except for Duo who now has a rather 'riskay' profession. A week before Christmas he is found by an unexpected someone.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing…if I did, the show would have been a lot yummier.

**Sunrise, Come Again.**

**Chapter 3**

By: Chix0r Neko

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I don't think I could have believed it unless I had been there.

When Quatre got the call from a hysterical Heero, he left immediately for Sanc leaving a note telling me what happened on our bed.

"Heero called, was upset, went to Earth. I have a ticket for you to leave at 10 p.m. don't be late."

I sighed and began packing. Since the end of the war Quatre had dredged himself up with work and I didn't get to see him much anyway. Well, more than some people get to see their lovers but I would have liked a little more time with him.

I had been visiting Catherine on L3, a couple of the lions were sick and after she inherited the circus she decided she was too cheap to call a vet when she had a brother who could take care of it for free.

I stayed there for three days. The first two taking care of the lions and the third I spent missing Quatre and appearing in a show with Catherine. I still get nervous when she has those knives. While she is good, she can get very... temperamental.

So after getting home from a three hour shuttle flight, I get this note telling me to get on another one for eight hours. Joy.

But never being able to say no to Quatre, I packed a small bag and trudged back out to the car I had just recently come from.

"Back so soon sir?"

"Unfortunately. Looks like I'll be needing to go back to the space port. Don't bother though, I can drive myself." I told the driver as I climbed into the driver's seat and set my bag down next to me in the passenger's seat.

My eyes burned onto the road and I gripped the steering wheel tighter as I tried to wake myself up. I didn't think of it as much of a problem though, I could always grab some coffee before I got on the shuttle.

I briefly wondered what was so important that we had to be drug to Earth at a moments notice.

When I got to the space port I found what was so important. I got sucker punched by him too.

I parked the car in the lot near the main entrance. Putting both hands on the wheel, I used them as a pillow for my head briefly and tried to figure out what was going on all the sudden.

Heero had been going through these, moods since Duo left. Sometimes he'd be completely fine and just like himself, and other times he'd cling to you until you thought your limbs would fall off. But then just as quickly he'd shut himself out, and stay in bed for weeks.

I sighed and plopped back in my seat. That's when I saw him.

He was still small, very small, he actually looked smaller than he did back in the war. But it was him. I was sure. Who else wears a black baseball cap with a four foot long braid in the back of his cap. He was wearing a long black trench coat that reached down to his ankles with a black t shirt, covering steeled toed boots and faded blue jeans.

My mind went on auto-pilot. I got out of my car and walked towards him fast. He must have sensed someone following him because he quickened his pace and changed directions, instead of heading to the parking lot to the parking garage where he began to climb the stairs.

I quickened my pace and he began running up the stairs.

He's still as fast as he was back in the days when he was on our side. I didn't catch up to him until the 5th floor and I know it was only my ability to run up three stairs at a time instead of his two.

The first thing I did was reach out pull that stupid cap off his head.

It was him.

His braid came tumbling down his back and smacked me in the face as he turned quickly and greeted me with a gun right between my wide eyes. Though I'm not sure who's were larger mine or his.

"It is you..."

Duo's mouth was hanging open like a fish like he was grasping for something to say but having it fly away from him every time he almost had something.

"... Everyone has been looking for you..."

That brought some recognition to his eyes. He quickly shut his mouth and growled something out as his foot connected in between my legs sending me to the ground seeing little stars floating around my head.

I grabbed myself and shut my eyes trying to dull the pain and I looked up to see him pacing in front of me.

"...Fuck...fuck...fuck!" He must have felt his eyes on me because the last thing I remember was the back of his gun on my head.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I woke up with my face sticking to a leather reclined seat and the mantra of "fuck!" coming from the driver's side of the car. I struggled to sit up but found myself to be tied down.

"I'm going to have to ask that you stay down there Tro." I looked over at Duo with wide eyes. He looked as though we'd been on the road for a while, his hands shaking, one holding an energy drink while the other stayed on the wheel. "I can't watch you and the road at the same time."

"So you don't trust me at all then?"

Duo sighed. "Sorry Tro. Time does things."

"It's done something to you. But your body did not seem to go with it."

"Trowa, shut up. Just, shut up. I have so much SHIT on my mind right now I don't need you making fun of my height when I have so much shit to think about, so just SHUT UP!"

The car stayed in silence for about three minutes before I felt I could talk again.

"... Heero's going to kill you." He visibly tightened his hands on the wheel.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up."

Laughing at his discomfort I tried to figure out what I was tied down with and how hard it would be to get out of.

"Can you really blame him though? You should have seen him after you left, it was terrible. He was broken, barely got out of bed for weeks." Duct tape?

"I said shut up..."

"He missed you tho..." My voice was cut off as Duo turned on a c.d. and turned the volume up full blast. I sighed and tried struggling against my bonds again. Definitely some type of tape, it itched against my skin and my leg was beginning to get a cramp in it.

Though I knew Duo would never hurt me I was somewhat concerned of what Quatre would think when I did not show up at the space gate to meet him and Heero. He would definitely think something had happened and would alert the authorities here. I had maybe twelve hours before the colony would be swarmed with people looking for me.

Slowly the car came to a halt and the music abruptly stopped as Duo cut the engine and looked over at me.

"Can I trust you?" I raised my eyebrow at him and he sighed.

"I need gas. We're at a gas station. It's not like I can leave you in here people will see." He unbuckled his seat belt and turned in his seat to face me. He'd taken off his coat. "If I untie you, can I trust you. I'll leave you here, but I need your word that you'll let me leave."

"I can't give you that Duo. We both know that." He sighed and plopped back into his seat.

"Then we have a problem."

"I can promise you that I am not going to cause a ruckus or attempt to harm you in anyway. But you'll have to take me where ever you're going."

"Deal." He took out a small knife from the sheathe located on what I can only assume was his calf and began cutting the tape where my body met the seat.

"Heero would never forgive me if I let you leave." I heard him take in a deep breath and he paused for a moment in his cutting and the put the knife back down his pants and got out of the car.

I sat up just as he slammed the door shut and I watched him enter the little store and began picking things off the shelves.

Sighing, I started rubbing at the areas of sticky skin and opened my own door, intending to stretch my legs and empty my bladder before we began driving again. God only knows where Duo was taking me on L4 so he must almost know how long it will take to get there.

Opening the door, a little bell alerted the clerk I was there. It was an older man with a white mustache wearing a blue vest. I sent a nod Duo's way and headed to the back of the store to the restroom.

I pushed on the door with the little man on it and went inside. There were three stalls and two urinals on the wall and one sink with a mirror over it. I relieved myself and then went to the sink to wash my hands. I looked down at the water washing off them and decided to try to wash some of the adhesive from the tape off of my arms.

I took some paper towel and began scrubbing as Duo walked and looked at me in the mirror.

"Do you want anything?" He asked as he turned his back to me and went to use the urinal.

"Just something to drink. If you don't mind me asking, how long will it take to get wherever we're going?"

Duo zipped up his fly and came over next to me at the sink, running the water over his hands before shaking them a bit and wiping them on his pants.

"It'll be a while before we get there. Four hours maybe." He said as we made our way back into the store.

I walked a step behind him and watched him pick up an abandoned basket full of chips and soda before walking to the front counter and setting it in front of the older man.

"I've got it." I told him and reached into the back of my pants for my wallet only to find it gone. Duo reached into his own pants and pulled it out, handing it back to me.

"Sorry."

I laughed and took it back. "I'm not even going to ask why you had it."

"That's probably a good idea."

I threw the money down on the counter, paying for our gas and food and we both headed back to the car. I had no doubt it would be an interesting trip.

- - - - - - - - - - -

A.n. allllrightie. we're back on track. next chapter will be about Heero and Quatre then with Trowa Duo in the end.


	4. Chapter 4

A.N. This fic is really coming along, I'd say, probably my best one so far lol. But I could really use a new summary, if anyone has any good ideas then drop me a line. I'm really bad at them. But I lied...it's about Duo and Trowa with Heero and Quatre at the end...sorry. And Trowa POV one more time. :3 months later: Haha! I completely forgot I even started this chapter! That's why I didn't want to work on it but I got a review for this story and was like what the hell , my soccer game doesn't start for a whole hour.

Summary: Post Endless Waltz, the pilots have all moved on, all keeping in touch except for Duo who now has a rather 'riskay' profession. A week before Christmas he is found by an unexpected someone.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing…if I did, the show would have been a lot yummier.

**Sunrise, Come Again.**

**Chapter 4**

By: Chix0r Neko

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"I spy something...green."

"Duo we've been playing this game for hours."

"I SPY SOMETHING GREEN!" I sighed and looked out the window. Duo was obviously on the verge of a mental breakdown and every minute I was in the car with him I began seriously questioning whether or not I thought he was a manic depressive bipolar in his manic phase. Running completely on the energy drinks and sugar filled hostess snacks from the gas station, it seemed if he didn't talk he wouldn't function.

"Is it, pray tell, my eyes?" He laughed a little and took another sip of his red bull.

"Eye." He chuckled as I turned to look out the window.

"You know, you look pretty tired." I remember in the war if you hinted to enough things Duo would give up whatever he was doing to do what you're hinting. Although this time Duo just kept his eyes on the road and his little smile started to fold back down into a frown. "I could take the wheel for you." I watched as he gripped the wheel tighter. "Just tell me where we're going and..."

"Trowa we've gotten along for the past two hours, leave it alone. You are not driving." He said with a tight, stern voice that should only fit Heero or Wufei. Or maybe myself.

"It's sad that you don't trust me after all we've been through." I muttered, giving up for then time being and turning to look out the window. The air became tense and Duo glared out at the road.

Looking over at his reflection in the window it's amazing how little he's changed. He's still the same small little guy that I remember from the Wars. It's like he was stuck in time. (1)

"Stop pouting." I smiled as I shut me eyes momentarily.

Looking over at him I said, "Funny I remember saying the same thing to you quite a few times." I finally got a real laugh out of him.

"Yeah. I wonder when our places got reversed... Mute."

"I'm not a mute anymore Duo." After all, with the wars ended and peace finally among us there was no need to be silent.

We drove another hour in near silence. Somewhere along the road Duo had turned the radio on but it faded in and out of my ears without much notice. I vaguely wondered how big a colony's roadways could be as we passed road signs again and again that never seemed to differ yet we reached a new place with each rotation of the tire.

I looked over at the small man driving. His hands gripped so tight on the wheel that his knuckles had turned a pale white. With bloodshot eyes he looked out at the road like a hawk, awaiting anything and everything all at once.

"Not much longer now..." He mumbled, drawing my attention away from the stain on the seat in between my legs.

He coughed a little, obviously trying to spit out something awkward and not wanting to do it. "I'm going to have to let you off soon."

I looked over at him in confusion. "Let me off? Why would you even bother bringing me this far if you weren't going to let me come with you where ever you're going?"

"First of all, I don't want you to get hurt." Ah, a hint on what the mysterious Maxwell is doing for a living. Obviously something dangerous. "Second of all, I can't have you following me." He had me there. I would follow him. Follow him and call Heero to let him know the exact whereabouts of our location.

"So exactly where are you planning on letting me off at?"

"Probably the side of the road after another mile or so." I looked over at him with wide eyes and realized he wasn't kidding.

"And what pray tell Duo am I supposed to do on the side of the road?"

"I don't know. Run home, get some exercise or something. You look like you could need it."

"Making jokes isn't going to make me feel any better on this one." I mumbled and turned back to my stain, knowing this was an argument I was not going to win. However with Duo running on complete adrenaline like this I knew it wouldn't be long before I'd be in control. I just had to wait for him to pull over first.

"Do you have any cash on you other than what was in your wallet?" I smirked.

"Don't even pretend, you know I don't and I know you searched me when I was out." Duo pouted looking out at the road.

"I was just trying to make conversation before I have to throw you out." He slowly came to a halt behind a billboard for dishwasher soap.

"A few miles back there was a cafe. Walk there and use the phone to call Quatre. Let him know you're safe."

"Why would I walk there when I could just call him from here with the cell." It was a little low on batteries but it would suffice for what I needed from it.

"Did I not tell you I couldn't have you following me Trowa? You've got to hand over the phone." I turned to look at him and was faced with the barrel of a gun.

"Now."

I slowly reached into my side pocket, all the while keeping my eyes on Duo. His eyes were hard as stone as I handed the phone to him and opened my car door to step out. I stood with my hands raised until he leaned over the seat and shut the door.

"I am sorry Trowa, but you must believe me this is for your own safety. I'm sorry..."

I stood on the side of the road and watched him drive away.

Well, I thought to myself, so much for the upper hand.

End.

1: Shameless part from the Slaughter House Five... such a good book.

I know it's short but this part just felt so forced anyway I decided to force it out and now I'll be able to work on it more easily.


	5. Chapter 5

A.N. I know it's been forever -- I'm sorry.

Summary: Post Endless Waltz, the pilots have all moved on, all keeping in touch except for Duo who now has a rather 'riskay' profession. A week before Christmas he is found by an unexpected someone. (By the way the unexpected someone isn't Trowa for all you confused people out there )

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing…if I did, the show would have been a lot yummier.

**Sunrise, Come Again.**

**Chapter 5**

By: MangoBango

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'L2 police are morons…' I thought scowling as I walked down the hallway at Preventers HQ with numerous manila folders stacked up on my arms.

The Preventers had been called onto the John Doe murder case on L2 over four months ago, and practically no progress had been made. No more evidence besides the gun was found, and the body was still unidentified. After dragging on for so long, the L2 police and half of the Preventers chalked up the event as nothing more than an L2 drug deal mishap, and closed the investigation.

However, the other pilots and myself were not convinced of such a verdict. All of us knew Duo would kill anyone who came within fifty feet of that gun. When I gave it to him, he got all teary eyed and pounced on me swearing that he'd never let it out of his sight. And he didn't either. I would know, I watched him punch someone out for looking at it wrong.

So that gave us two possible conclusions. Duo was dead and someone had stripped the gun off him, or Duo had been attacked by the man, shot him, and was so injured he had to crawl off to find help before he could pocket the gun. Only the first one seemed to make sense, but we were still reluctant to let go of the desire that made us believe he was still alive.

When we called Trowa and Quatre to tell them about the gun, only one of them got on the first shuttle available for L1. Trowa came later. Ever since then Trowa hadn't been acting like himself. He acted as though he had something to hide, and Quatre walked around with an extremely guilty look on his face, which meant he knew what it was. But with so much on my mind I didn't think too hard on it.

"ARGGGGGGH!" I screamed throwing the folders down onto the ground and smashing them efficiently with my foot. Staring down at the mangled L2 documents gave me a sense of proud satisfaction. There's my fuck you, to the L2 police.

Rubbing my boot-clad foot over the documents again for good measure, I ignored the looks of shock from my fellow co-workers and made a beeline for my office.

Upon reaching my door I yanked it open in haste, walking in, then slamming it back into it's former position. I plopped down at my desk with a sigh. When had I become so childish…

_/When he left you…/_

I let out a growl of frustration.

"So I guess I'm even pulling cheap shots on myself now?" I asked myself, bringing my laptop up to the start up page. I was so engrossed with my thoughts I didn't even notice the figure leaning against my now open door.

"Yuy…I'm really starting to be worried about your metal state." Wufei stood wide-eyed at me as he spoke before shutting the door and taking a seat in the chair across from me. "It's not like you to argue with yourself."

Glaring, I began shuffling papers on my desk, trying to make it seem like I was doing something. It was a cheap thing to do but apparently I'm very good at making cheap shots now and all I wanted was to be left alone in my office.

Honestly, ever since my gun was found, I think I had done about twenty minutes of actual work that didn't pertain to the L2 case. After the wars I had gotten better about showing emotion. Frankly I think they are quite trivial and just a way of exhausting valuable muscles in the face, but Quatre told me Duo would have wanted to see me smile more. So I smiled. Even in death Duos being a pain in my ass.

I smiled, talked to people when it wasn't necessary; I've even gone out seven times with people other than the band of brothers. That's what Duo always called us.

Now, however, I had no desire to do anything besides find Duo. People can think I'm crazy for all I care but I tell you, he is alive. Didn't matter if he died, he wouldn't part with that gun. He sobbed when I gave it to him and anything that makes Duo start crying means that it's very important to him.

I just wish people would start believing me instead of giving me odd looks in the hallway,

Une's the worst of all of them too.

She has been bitching at me ever since this stuff on L2 started. Telling me to stay out of it and to keep focused on my work. This is my work. And I am focused. I don't see any problem.

Just then my phone started to ring.

"Yuy."

"A witness has come foreword."

Oooooooooooooo

"Maxwell here."

"I thought you said you cleaned this up." Duo was lying on his stomach looking over the side of the roof he was on with a stealth rifle pressed tightly to his chest.

"What do you mean? You just told me about this guy I'm taking care of it right now." He said, lining up his shot with the incoming car.

"The L2 case Maxwell!" A silent bullet went flying somewhere unknown and Duo froze for a moment before shooting the man in the backseat of the car.

"I fixed that. I took reports. The body is gone now. It's closed, it's fixed." He kept trying to repeat it in his head. It's fixed, as though it would help.

"A witness has finally come forward, he's being brought to HQ as we speak, so you better get your ass here, and fix this. It's bad enough you let Trowa see you. If I hadn't threatened him with Quatre's life Heero would know. I do not need my best stealth 'agent' in any more trouble than he already is! If you don't fix this in 24 hours this deal we have is exterminated. You will not be protected by anyone. Fix this, or you might as well say your goodbyes now."

Click.

End

Bleh not the best, I'm sorry, but at least it's something I'm updating a lot today actually with some other one shots and a new multipart -- yes I know I shouldn't but I'm trying to get out of my writers block.


	6. Chapter 6

A.N. Hohoho, an update, yes yes. Thanks for all the reviews everyone! KEEP EM COMING! I love feed back... and I need it right now -- The darkness is looming over me.

Summary: Post Endless Waltz, the pilots have all moved on, all keeping in touch except for Duo who now has a rather 'riskay' profession. A week before Christmas he is found by an unexpected someone. (By the way the unexpected someone isn't Trowa for all you confused people out there )

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing…if I did, the show would have been a lot yummier.

**Sunrise, Come Again.**

**Chapter 6**

By: MangoBango

------------

"I'm only going to ask you one more time. What did he look like." Wufei sighed, he had long since attempted to calm Heero down. It was apparent that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

The witness was a scrawny little balding man with glasses. His name was Alex Sanders, and obviously the type of person who would wet his pants at any sudden movement. The stuttering witness did not help improve Heero's mood.

"I...I uh... uh..." Heero shoved his chair away from the table and stalked up to Sanders. Gripping his shirt in both hands, Heero pulled the witness close to his face.

"Listen, I've been patient with you. So when I ask you something you better answer. What did he look like." Wufei stood from his chair in the corner of the interrogation room. Walking over to Heero he placed his hand on his arm.

"You aren't going to get anything from him doing that." Heero glared one last time at the witness before shoving him back into his seat. Wufei took Heero's place across from him and folded his hands across the table.

"Sanders, this case has been open five months. Lets start there. Why didn't you come forward sooner."

With a weary eye towards Heero, Sanders took one last sip of his water on the table before speaking.

"I... I figured someone else would have seen it... They weren't quiet or anything..." Wufei and Heero listened eagerly, waiting for anything that might sound like Duo.

"But wouldn't you have heard something on the radio, TV, anything? Anything that would have made you come forward sooner."

"I..." Sanders began choking on his words. Looking very nervous, beads of sweat began rolling down his face as he felt Heero's glare burn into his soul.

"Why?"

"I... I was scared... If you had seen this thing..."

Wufei leaned forward across the table trying to look into Sander's eyes. "What thing?"

"The thing that killed the man. It couldn't have been human... A... At first I thought I might have been hallucinating. It was such a small little thing... and it just ripped that person apart... And when I saw the gun go off I just ran... I couldn't take it any longer..." Sanders put his face in his hands, obviously trying to hold back tears.

Wufei stood from his chair to kneel next to the man. Whispering he said, "listen, I know that you've seen something horrible. But we have to know what he looked like. What did the thing look like?"

Sniffing, Sanders turned to look Wufei in the eye. "He wasn't wearing a shirt, but he had a long hair. Re... really long. And his eyes..."

Wufei gripped his head in his hand, making Sanders look at him when he attempted to turn his head.

"What were his eyes like?"

"Even though it was dark, you could still see them... They almost glowed... purple..."

That was all Heero needed to hear. He stood so quickly that his chair fell over, and he stalked out of the room just as quickly making a beeline for his office.

"You'll have to excuse us now, Sanders. Someone will be in with you shortly." Wufei explained before running after Heero, leaving Sanders locked in the interrogation room alone.

---------------Duo POV

I guess there are some advantages to being small. I can assure you that a bigger person wouldn't be able to fit into air ducts, let alone crawl around in them.

Getting that call from Une really caught me off guard. I was so certain that I'd taken care of everything. The reports, the body, everything I thought I'd taken care of just seemed to melt away with that phone call. This left me where I was now, crawling through the air vents of Preventer's HQ on Earth.

I couldn't imagine who would have seen me. Well, I guess that makes sense though, seeing as how I was so hammered during the time of the hit. For all I know I could have taken off my hands and did a ritual dance around him after I'd blown his head off.

Anyway, after I heard from Une, my balls felt like they had literally jumped back into my body. She'd almost killed me once and I didn't want to repeat any such thing. When that woman gets angry, she's not just scary. She's terrifying.

Though I guess running into Heero right now would be pretty terrifying too. Oh well, all I know is that I can't lose this job with Une. And I can't run into any of the guys again. Thus, I shimmy through the air ducts.

Chapter 6 End

A.N. I'm sorry it's not very long but... I dunno, I'm sorry. I'll try to write more soon.


	7. Chapter 7

A.N I really should be doing homework, I'll start it later I guess.

Summary: Post Endless Waltz, the pilots have all moved on, all keeping in touch except for Duo who now has a rather 'riskay' profession. A week before Christmas he is found by an unexpected someone. (By the way the unexpected someone isn't Trowa for all you confused people out there )

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing…if I did, the show would have been a lot yummier.

**Sunrise, Come Again.**

**Chapter 7**

By: MangoBango

- - - - - - -

"Heero you need to calm down!" Wufei ran after Heero and blocked the entrance to his office with his body. "You don't know for sure that it's him!"

Heero's eye's burned into Wufei's as he violently pushed him into his office and slammed the door. Still off guard, Wufei found himself with his back slammed against Heero's desk and a pair of blue eyes glaring into his.

"I don't know it's him?! I have been patient! Patient for 6 years! 6 years Wufei! I have trekked all of fucking space from colony to colony! Don't you dare tell me this isn't Duo! Because it is! And we both know it is so don't you dare tell me it isn't!"

Heero gave Wufei one last shake before releasing him. Sitting up and rubbing his neck, Wufei stared wide eyed at his partner. Heero had become a level headed thinker, a patient person. But this wasn't the new Heero anymore, and as Wufei stared at the man loading his gun he realized that the Heero he had fought with during the wars was back. He loaded his gun mechanically, everything in it's proper place with no mistakes. He was back with a mission.

"Heero..." Wufei was cut off by a beeping coming from Heero's desk top. "... the silent alarm." Both men nodded to each other, and Wufei headed to his office for his gun while Heero quickly pressed his intercom button.

"Have we isolated the intruder?"

"We can't be sure but we think he's somewhere on your floor. Be on the alert but don't make a scene. We don't want a panic, Heero." He smirked at Noin's last comment and stuffed his gun into his chest holster then put on his jacket.

"No problem."

- - - - - - - -

"It's you!! It's you!! Oh god get away from me!" I hate it when people quiver. I'd almost rather have them fight back. I mean, at least when they fight back you don't feel bad about killing them.

I'm pretty sure my dear Mr. Sanders basically shit his pants when he saw me shimmy through the vent in the wall. Yeah, most people probably couldn't fit through the small rectangle, but most people weren't my size and about to be sold out by a blubbering idiot.

I saw his mouth begin to drop and jumped across the table separating us and gripped my hand over his mouth before he had a chance to truly scream.

"I'm sorry, buddy. It's truly not personal... OW MOTHER FUCKER!" I drew back my hand quickly and shoved the little brat away from me. I looked down and through the blood on my hand could distinguish a nice set of teeth marks.

"Son of a..." I pulled the gun I had brought on the trip out. While I needed to find out where Heero's gun was I needed him to shut up even more.

He started screaming and the only thing I could think to do was start shooting. And shot I did. I shot him straight between the eyes before I realized what I had one.

I just shot a gun in Preventers HQ. I just shot a witness, and someone, somewhere must have heard it, and that meant that there was probably a nice hoard of agents flying to the interrogation as I stood there staring at the man I had just dropped like a deer.

I'll be honest. A part of me just wanted to sit down and stare at the man. He was staring at me and I felt a strange obligation to stare back at him. However, I knew that Une was never going to back me up again and so I knew I had to get out of there somehow.

Giving my friend one last look I jumped onto the table and made a flying leap towards the air duct opening. I gripped the opening with both my hands and pulled myself into it. Have you ever experienced the feeling where it is so easy to get somewhere, but not so easy to get back?

- - - - - -

"Did you find him?" I gave Wufei an annoyed glance before looking around the office.

"Do I look like I've found him."

"Now isn't exactly the time for attitude, Yuy." I opted to ignore Wufei, seeing as how I was still irritated at him and didn't really have anything to say.

We had secured the first two floors, which meant the intruder had to be somewhere on the 3rd, 4th or 5th. We had agents searching on all the floors, but most of the attention went to the 4th. The 4th floor was used for biological warfare crafting and if someone was trying to break into L1 Preventer's HQ that would most likely be the reason.

I sighed to myself and started walking around desks, trying not to make it obvious that I was searching for someone. This wasn't fair. Every time I got close to finding something that had to do with Duo something like this happened. It was like a Preventer's conspiracy or something. I laughed a little to myself. Yeah, that's right Yuy, all your friends are ganged up against you so you wont find Duo.

"Nothing's missing from the 4th or 5th floors."

"Keep your voice down. Are you sure?" Wufei glared at me and with a huff started to walk away.

"Yes, I'm sure. Is this floor secured?"

I sat down hard in an empty chair outside of Wufei and I's joint office. "I just can't imagine what they'd want on this..."

The next part felt blurred looking back. Both our heads snapped towards the direction of the sound. It was a gun. And suddenly we both knew exactly what someone would want on the 3rd floor.

"The witness!" I heard Wufei scream but I was already up and running before he could speak.

'Please don't be dead, please don't be dead!' I thought to myself as I slammed open the interrogation room door. My one tie to Duo. He was my one clue.

But there he was. My one chance to find out anything about the man I hadn't seen in 6 years lay in a puddle of blood with his brains splattered about the wall.

I felt like giving up. I felt like dying. I slid down the wall opposing the man and put my face in my hands. Hearing the sound of feet pounding, I heard a woman scream and Wufei mutter a few choice words before picking up his cell and telling Noin we needed all agents seal off the 3rd floor.

I had started off in L4, they found the gun, I went to L2, they transfered the case to Earth, I went to Earth, they found a witness on L1 and here I am. Staring at said witness wondering why I had been so stupid as to leave him unattended.

"Heero, you have to get up. He could still be on this floor and going for more people." Wufei was right. He could still be on this floor.

"Sorry, Noin..." I muttered as I sat up and pulled my gun out. This was not the time for discretion anyway. Everyone would have heard the gun shot. At least on this floor.

We walked out of the room slowly. Crouched low to the floor and looked out into the people working on the floor. They were all frozen staring at us. Wufei gestured for them to get down and we watched as everyone began to sit on the floor.

Wufei, I, and numerous agents began searching the floor quickly and quietly. "Noin, he must have gone to another floor."

"No, Heero, the other floors have been successfully sealed off there's no one there except our employees."

I growled into the cell phone, gripping it tighter in my hand. "Well there's no one on this floor!"

I pulled the phone away from my ear for a moment. I heard... something, soft, but there. "Noin, we'll call you back."

I motioned for Wufei to come closer to me. "The ceiling." I whispered and Wufei looked up. Our little group went completely silent and we heard it again. It was a little creak.

"He's in the air duct." Wufei muttered, and started to call Noin back. I rested my hand on his, bringing the phone away from his ear.

I pointed my gun above us and began to listen. For a while there was nothing to hear. But then I heard what I needed to and fired.

"Ahck..." The bullet went straight through the ceiling tiles into the air duct, which had vibrated with sound. Little drips of blood started to fall onto the carpet as they soaked through the tile.

"Call Noin, tell her we got him." Wufei nodded and picked up his phone to make the call.

- - - - - -

I tried to stay as quiet as possible as the bullet ripped through my calf. It was too small of a space to grab for the wound, which I desperately wanted to do, and so I decided to stay as quiet as possible. But they knew I was here.

I stretched my arms out in front of me and began to pull myself forward. I had to get away. They'd be able to cut the duct away and they'd find me. Then Une would come kill me, and that was never a happy thought.

It was then when I felt the rest of the bullets come. Four of them. Three came through my legs again and one through my upper arm and I screamed out and began to spasm widely. I had to hold the wounds, apply pressure, and every muscle in my body said get out of this duct you moron.

- - - - - -

"Heero what are you doing!" I watched as Heero shot four more holes through the intruder.

"We can't let him get away." Heero had lost it. He was so overcome with anger he had let his judgment become impaired.

He put his gun away and began to walk towards our office. "Call me when they get him out."

I stared in disbelief as I watched him walk away. Completely unfeeling. It felt like we were right back in the middle of the war, and Heero was walking away from another destroyed facility.

"Wufei!" I turned my head to see Trowa running towards me.

"Where is he?!" I cocked my head towards the ceiling, it was stained a dark red now. We'd definitely have to replace the carpet.

"Oh my god. Get him out! Get him out now!" Blinking I watched as Trowa grabbed a chair and started to ripped the tiles off the ceiling.

"Trowa, what are you doing, the people are coming you don't have to do this." I started to panic, I really didn't need two of my friends losing their minds and it looked like that was what has happened.

"Duo! Duo can you hear me!? Duo, answer me!" He screamed, and my eyes went wide. He was banging on the side of the air duct just next to the bullet holes and it all made sense. Why Trowa and Quatre had been so secretive.

"Oh my god." Everyone had gone dead silent and all we could hear was Trowa banging on the side of the duct. No one had even noticed that Heero had came out of the office to see what the commotion was.

He stalked over to Trowa and ripped him off the chair. Reaching his fingers through the bullet holes he gave one swift tug and the metal began to rip.

More blood began to drip on the carpet but it was coming from Heero's hands. They had disappeared into the duct and we heard a choked sob as we watched him pull a bloody Duo out of the ceiling.

Heero started to give choked up breaths as tears streamed down his face. He held Duo to his chest as he got down off the chair and sat on the floor. Even when the paramedics got there he wouldn't let go.

Chapter 7 End

I'm kinda proud of myself, I was so going to put a monsterous cliff hanger and I didn't! Well yeah, leave me some love, suggestions, or just anything really. If you have anything you want incorporated to the story leave me a review. Well, leave one anyway !


	8. Chapter 8

A.N. Alright, I'm back. This story is going to take the course I had originally intended, but the writing style maybe pretty different, I'm not really sure. If it is I apologize. This chapter will be in Heero's POV. I'm also looking at the summary I wrote a long time ago, and had NO IDEA why I added Christmas in there. So, I'm sorry, please extend your belief, I'm gonna go with it...

Summary: Post Endless Waltz, the pilots have all moved on, all keeping in touch except for Duo who now has a rather 'riskay' profession. A week before Christmas he is found by an unexpected someone. (By the way the unexpected someone isn't Trowa for all you confused people out there )

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing…if I did, the show would have been a lot yummier.

**Sunrise, Come Again.**

**Chapter 8**

By: cHix0r Neko

----------

I sat in the hallway outside of the operating room. They'd long since drawn the curtains around the lone window, effectively hiding any progress they were making on Duo's injuries from me. I supposed they didn't want to accidently set me off, and I suppose that's fair. Teeth never grow back after all, as that unfortunate paramedic will learn the hard way.

I hunched over, my elbows on my knees and my hands in between them clutching my old friend. I hadn't seen the gun in seven years and it was once again keeping me grounded, just like it did in the war. It felt heavy in my hands, heavier than I remember it feeling. It was probably from all the blood that stained it. That's something I learned the hard way. No matter how hard you scrub, blood always remains. I sighed. There was one thing for certain, I could not live with Duo's blood on my hands.

"Give me the gun," Wufei stated, and suddenly his hand made its way in front of my face. With his palms extended he curled up his fingers twice motioning that I wasn't making the transition fast enough. I was so tired, that I handed it over without a fight. "You shouldn't even have that unholstered. We're in the medical ward."

I glared at him. I _knew_ where we were, and I knew the rules and regulations for this god awful place. I'd certainly been here enough times, all for pretty minor wounds. When most people don't want to talk to a Preventer they get all antsy and make the mistake of whipping out a gun or pocket knife, and sometimes they go for the old fashioned punch to the face. Regardless, all the wounds were artificial in their nature, none were enough to do me in. Unlike the wounds I had inflicted on Duo.

Shivering involuntarily, I shot up from my hunched position, my back now flush with the back of the chair. Even thinking about it was giving me the willies. Out of pure restraint I didn't stand up and try to see what was going on in the operating room. I'd done it many times since I'd been there, and clearly, if they didn't want me to see them retracting the bullets I put through him, they clearly wouldn't want me to see them stitching him up either. I looked down at my watch, yes, that was right. They should be stitching him up if nothing went wrong.

"Wont be long now," I mumbled to myself.

Wufei snorted next to me. "Nope. But you have to allow extra time for stitching and bullet removal. Duo still looked about the same size he was in the war, the medics here aren't used to doing surgery on children."

I'm ashamed to say I chuckled. "I wouldn't go as far as to say he was child sized."

"That's only because you don't intend to tease him about it. I, on the other hand," he stretched his hands above his head, his shoulders making a horrible popping sound as he did so. "Intend to make him suffer for all the insufferable comments he made to or about me during the war. Revenge will be sweet for the little pea pod."

Pea pod. Duo would not like that one. He was not a fan of any kind of vegetable. At least he wasn't back when I knew him.

"I can't believe we found him," I said, barely being able to make out the words. "Seven years."

"At least you were patient, as you say, for six of them. I personally thought you were just as insufferable through the first five, calmed down in the sixth, then went ballistic in the seventh."

Looking back, I do feel sorry Wufei had to share an office with me for that long.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "Did you get in touch with Sally?"

I wasn't looking at him, but I could feel the cringe that made its way onto his face. It slithered like a snake that was being consistently prodded by a ten year old brat with a stick. It was venomous.

"Yes," he spat out. "I'm shocked that she didn't go into early labor with what a big deal she made of this. Wanted to rush down here and perform the surgery herself. Naturally I reminded her that she's so gigantic that she can barely move and would never make it in time, and that just brought up a whole mess of problems," he whined as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I sometimes wonder why I ever decided to produce spawn with that woman."

"You love her," I blunted stated.

He stared at me with a look that I'm not too familiar with, then nodded. "Yes. Yes I do."

Silence fell over the two of us at the mention of love. Somewhere between Wufei's normal bickering and trying to get my mind off the elephant in the surgery room, we had spoken of the taboo subject.

"What are you going to say to him," Wufei finally asked, no longer dodging around what we both knew needed to be talked about.

I shrugged, and looked up at the ceiling, hoping maybe an answer resided there. "I have no idea."

As we heard footsteps approaching down the hall we glanced up to see Trowa hand in hand with Quatre walking towards us. They didn't say anything as they approached, merely grabbing the two chairs on either side of Wufei and myself and placed them in front of us. Apparently, it was time to stop avoiding eye contact.

"Are you alright," Quatre asked, placing a hand on my knee which I immediately removed by crossing my legs.

"Yes," I lied. I don't know why, but for whatever reason I never felt comfortable opening up to Quatre. It wasn't really voluntary. If he wanted to really see if I was fine, he could just read my emotions, and I'm sure he had already done so, or he wouldn't have asked if I was okay.

I found myself glaring at Trowa, as the other two glanced around at us nervously.

"Don't look at me like that, Heero," he growled. "This isn't my fault. It is not my fault you went gun happy and didn't realize who you were shooting until it was too late to rectify."

"How did you know it was him," I saw the others cringe. My voice was stone cold, even I knew it. The voice of pilot 01, a killer spewed across my lips and spat themselves into the face of my few friends.

Trowa shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I found him on L3, or he found me rather. When I was at the shuttle port."

I waited for him to elaborate, but he only stared at me, obviously not comfortable with relaying the information. "I'll break your face if you don't tell me," I replied.

Quatre automatically gasped and snapped back at me. "Heero! We all know you're upset but don't go breaking ties because you're stressed out. Duo will be out of surgery soon and you could just ask him yourself!"

"Or I could ask Trowa right now," I replied, my eyes still interlocked with his. Wufei sat passively and posed no kind of judgement.

"He said he'd kill Quatre if I mentioned him."

And there it was, another elephant introduced. Quatre went still next to him, a blank expression blanketed across his face. At the time, I had only been worried about whether or not he would pull through the surgery, I didn't even consider what I'd been considering for years. What the hell had Duo been doing all that time. Where was he, was he still a soldier, was he the type to murder his friends?

"Are you alright, Quatre?" I asked, not even trying to make it seem like it wasn't supposed to sting.

"Shut up," he whispered in response, lowering his head.

"What is he?" I asked Trowa, now glaring full force at me. "Who is he."

"As far as I can tell, he's into something illegal. What? I don't know, I can only guess that if he's willing to exterminate the life of a comrade that life has no more meaning for him. He's untrusting, uncautious," he paused. "Uncouth. As far as I saw, he's the same Duo from the war, seven years later."

"In the same body," Wufei finally mumbled. I could tell that he would never miss a chance to jab at 02's height.

As I was about to respond, the door to the surgery room finally opened, and the subject in question was wheeled out on a gurney and taken down the hall. Something tightened in my chest as I watched him get farther and farther away from me. I'd searched for him so long and now that I found him, I needed to see him. He needed to be in my sight at all times, or he'd get away again. And after seven years, we had a lot we needed to discuss. I left the others to talk with the doctor and took off after the gurney, and the man who had stolen my life away when he left.

The hospital room was like pretty much every hospital room I've ever been in: sterile. It had that overly clean smell that made me feel like I was in a completely artificial environment. Suddenly nothing in the world was real, and even all the germs had been exterminated.

Duo laid still on the bed, his eyes closed and breathing labored. He'd probably wake up within the hour and I still had nothing to say when the event occurred.

Duo, you stole my life.

Duo, you broke my heart.

Duo, I should kill you for leaving me.

Duo, I still lov.... am hurt by what you did.

Somehow, those stupid words kept coming to mind, and it pissed me off. I was supposed to be angry. I was supposed to hold this unearthly grudge against the one person I've ever been able to love, and yet, after the horror of realizing that I had shot him wore off, I felt pangs of happiness. He was back. And I could force him to stay this time, after all, he would not have the ability to use his legs for at least a couple of weeks.

I tried to remind myself to be angry, but somehow, my anger slipped away like drops of rain against a window. Slowly trailing, leaving little shreds of pain behind, then fading into another place. I could be angry later. Right now, I was relieved.

My hand reached out of its own accord, having longed to touch this man's face for seven years. My finger tips grazed his cheek, it was much more sullen than when we were teenagers, but still had the same soft texture it had always had. I vaguely wondered if his lack of development was due to genetics or some form of sick self abuse he was inflicting on himself. He's always done shit like that.

Glancing out the lone window that graced that particular hospital room, I noticed that a soft, rolling snow had fallen upon the Earth Sphere. It would figure that Duo would show up so soon before Christmas. He's always had connections to the holiday. All associated with pain, and I suppose this one was no different, if anything I'm sure he would still be in remarkable physical pain long into the new year.

My head shot towards the bed as a long moan trailed past Duo's lips.

"Duo?" I questioned, standing from the chair I had been sitting in to get as close as possible to him. "Are you awake?"

"Heero?" He mumbled, his eyes opening and closing slightly as they tried to adjust to the harsh florescent light. I quickly paced to the door and flipped the light switch that resided next to it, casting the room into darkness. The snow outside provided some light, but wouldn't interfere with the adjustment of Duo's eyes.

"Yeah," I mumbled, walking back to the bed and pulling the chair as close as possible to it. "It's me."

His eyes finally opened enough to make eye contact, and for a brief moment, I thought I saw the same love I had shown for him on the Peace Million reflected in his eyes. A second later it was replaced by fear. I guess I couldn't really blame him, if I were in his position, I'd probably be scared too.

"I guess this makes us even, huh?" He joked, trying to pull out a grin out of his ass and failing miserably. "Tit for tat."

"What are you talking about?" I questioned, wondering if the anesthetic hadn't quite totally wore off yet.

"When I first met you," he started, closing his eyes. "I shot you. Now you've finally gotten me back for it."

I nodded. "I suppose I did. But you only shot me twice. I'm fairly certain there are five bullet holes in various parts of your body."

"That sounds about right. That's okay, lets just think of it as the accumulated interest."

"I'm not sorry I shot you," I shot out, quickly realizing after I had said it that it was also true.

He let out a long sigh and opened his eyes. "I wouldn't be sorry either."

"You left me."

"I know," he whispered.

"You left me after I told you that I loved you," I growled out, my anger finally surfacing after laying dormant for so many years. My first mission had been to find Duo, to bring him back to me, and now that it had been completed, I was free to unleash all the torment that I had suffered through during his absence, and inflict it on him.

"I had to," he replied, not offering anything else. He turned his head as far as he could, glancing out the window and avoiding all eye contact.

Suddenly, I was unable to control my anger. I reached out and grabbed his chin roughly, certainly hard enough to leave marks, if not bruises, and brought my face close to his. "You didn't have to do shit," I whispered viciously. "You got scared and abandoned everything we could have had."

"You know what Heero?" He started, turning his head roughly to break my hold on it. "You aren't sorry you shot me, and I'm not and will never be sorry that I left. It's probably the only reason you're still alive. You want to be with me? Then you want to sign your own death sentence."

I stood up from my chair, and reached into my pocket. "If you had given me a pen," I responded, picking up the cross that had been heavy in my pocket for so many years, and dropped it next to Duo's hand. "I would have willingly signed."

With that, I stood, and turned from him. At the time I had nothing more to say.

As I walked towards the door, I felt something collide with the back of my head. I turned slightly and looked to where the item fell to the ground. His cross glistened from the light that reflected on it. As I looked up, he wore a disgusted, pained expression from where he sat up in his bed.

"That was a gift directly from my heart. You may not be able to ever forgive me, but you can't ever give back a heart once it's been given to someone else."

For a while we simply stared at each other, not really wanting to admit the other had a valid point. Somewhere in that stubborn head of his, I knew he could understand the pain I associated with that cross. Somewhere in my own head, I understood the love he associated with it. However, at the time, there were no words, there could be no resolution. Instead, I bent down and picked it up, and held it tightly in my hand as I turned, and walked out into the hall.

Chapter 8 End

A.N. Okay, it's been a while, so cut me a little slack if it was horrible. Next time get ready to have a brief explanation of exactly what the hell is going on! And don't worry everyone, they will make up, these things just take time.


	9. Chapter 9

A.N. Getting more into the story line as I've refreshed my mind as to what's going on haha. I'm going to try to update at least a couple times a week until this is finished, but it may go on longer than anticipated, meaning longer chapters with less frequent updates (probably once or twice a week). We now get Duo's POV.

Summary: Post Endless Waltz, the pilots have all moved on, all keeping in touch except for Duo who now has a rather 'riskay' profession. A week before Christmas he is found by an unexpected someone. (By the way the unexpected someone isn't Trowa for all you confused people out there )

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing…if I did, the show would have been a lot yummier.

**Sunrise, Come Again.**

**Chapter 9**

By: cHix0r Neko

----------

Even though I was groggy, and shaken to the core by my sudden reunion with Heero, I couldn't keep the dopey smile off my face as I watched him kneel to the ground and pick up my cross. I had half expected him to just leave it on the floor and walk out on me forever. I can't say I'd really blame him if that's what he chose to do. Hell, that's probably what I'd do in his situation.

I was shaken from my internal monologue by three small taps on the door. Looking up, I saw Quatre's head poking through the doorway. "Mind if I come in?" He asked hesitantly, clearly not intending to make a move until he was given permission.

"You've always been too polite, Quat," I replied, smiling and motioning for him to come in. "That's probably why you get taken advantage of so much."

He returned a small, half smile and slid in through the half open door, closing it behind him. "You've always been too forward," he rebutted, taking the place Heero once occupied next to my bed. "Kind of like your arrival."

I chuckled. "I guess that's one way to put it."

"What were you planning to do?" He continued, his eyes full of hurt, or maybe concern, it was hard to tell. "Just run away again once you'd offed the guy?"

I hadn't actually thought about that. At the time I was just trying to clean up the mess I had made and, well, yes I supposed that after the fact I was planning on running away again. All Une told me was to clean up my mess, and that's all I really planned to do.

"Jesus, Duo," he mumbled, rubbing his hand against his face, obviously upset that I actually had to think about the question. "You don't even feel bad about any of this do you?"

I was sure I'd be asked that question about a thousand times before I was ever really given a chance to explain myself. It's not like I'd really been _gone_ per-say. I'd been around. I'd seen almost all the pilots in their domesticity, especially when I was sent to kill someone who was sent to kill someone at some big party they were "defending." Nonetheless, I'm sure exposing that little fact would just make everyone more angry, so I decided to keep my mouth shut about that little detail. But honestly? No, in short, I did not feel bad.

"I had some things I needed to take care of," I decided to respond with something that was at least semi truthful. I had taken care of quite a few things. About ten terrorists, fifteen assassins, five drug dealers, two rapists, and now added to my death toll, one eye witness. Too bad it didn't do me much good seeing as how I'd still ended up smack dab in the middle of the lion's den. I could practically see Une licking her chops at me, waiting to pounce in for the kill.

Quatre stared at me for a moment and sighed. "Illegal things? What kind of things are you into that you'd threaten to kill your best friend if Trowa mentioned you?"

I gulped. Leave it to Trowa to open his yap when I told him to keep it shut. "Look, Quatre," I began hesitantly, not wanting to say anything to hurt Quatre's feelings any further than I already had. "You know I only said that to shut him up. I knew that if he told you, you guys would have found me out, and I wasn't ready to be found yet." Nope, I still had multiple "orders" to cash in on. "I just knew that he'd never take the chance that it wasn't a bluff."

"I figured it was something like that," he responded quickly, but I'm fairly certain I heard a distinct sigh a relief at the end, but I wasn't offended by it. "You're a lot of things, but you aren't a murderer." I tried very hard to stifle the sound that was trying to make it's way out of my throat. Mentally beating down my conscious with a baseball bat, I nodded my head.

"No," I lied, my face void of any emotion. "I'm not."

We were interrupted by a knock at the door, causing both our heads to turn sharply as the rest of the pilots entered my room. Heero stood characteristically behind the other two, and avoided eye contact with me.

"Nice to see you again, Maxwell," Wufei stated with a smirk. "How nice of you to grace us with your presence."

"Ah, nice to see you again too Wuffers."

I was slightly disturbed at the way Wufei's smile seemed to grow in response to the pet name he had hated when we were kids. Vaguely, I wondered why his smirk had a slightly devious slant to it but was interrupted by Trowa.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He shot out, obviously not in the mood to forget everything I'd put him through, you know, the "kidnapping" and all. "If you were planning on coming back why the hell didn't you just _come back_ with me?!"

"It's not like I was planning on getting caught," I answered, rolling my eyes in the process.

"And then what? You'd just be gone again?" Heero finally spoke up, his words still filled with the collective anger that I'm sure all the others were feeling as well. "Just correct a mistake and then leave?!"

"Maybe we should go," Quatre mumbled, scooting the chair away from my bed as he took Trowa's hand, which seemed to be visibly shaking, as he led him out the door.

"You really don't have to leave," I called after them, not really feeling up to another verbal punching match with Heero. I still wasn't sure who had won the last one.

"Oh yes we do," Wufei answered. His smirk had somehow evolved into an ear to ear smile, and I'm not ashamed to say that it was really freaking me out. Some people just aren't meant to look that happy.

"Sweet dreams," he called out, sliding out the door until his head was the only thing I could see. "Little pea pod."

After they'd left I stared at the door for a moment in shock. "Oh hell, no," I mumbled. I'd just been burned by Wufei. This wasn't the type of reunion I'd been hoping for. No "oh we missed you so much!"s or "we are so happy you're back!"s. Just angry glares, hurt feelings, and a big bout of pride bruising at the fact that my height was just insulted by Wufei. By _Wufei_. What is he? Like maybe three inches taller than me. I sighed, life was so unfair.

Heero stood with his arms folded against his chest, and stared at me with cold murderous eyes.

"Are you ever going to stop looking at me like that?" I asked, averting my gaze. I never thought in a million years that I would be the lucky occupant of one of those stares.

"I don't know how else to look at you," he said, his voice completely monotone. He didn't offer anything else. It was like he was fine with just staring at me and making me feel as uncomfortable as possible.

"What happens now?" I asked hesitantly, not really sure if I wanted to know the answer or not. Part of me wanted to escape again, and pretend like this reunion had never happened. Honestly, I'm not sure that I could take the guilt associated with it, so I just kept trying to convince myself that what I did had been the right thing to do.

He shrugged. "That ball's pretty much in your court. You made it fairly clear seven years ago that you didn't want anything to do with me. Seeing as how you never came back, I assume not much has changed."

"I wanted everything to do with you," I mumbled.

"Oh?" He began, stalking towards the bed. "You did? Funny, because someone who wants to begin a life with someone, usually sticks around to do just that."

"I couldn't stay," I spat out, finally snapping. I've never liked being yelled at, and didn't appreciate Heero insinuating he had meant nothing to me. It wasn't like that, and he knew it. All he was trying to do was make me feel guilty for something that he didn't _want _to understand. "You would have ended up just like the rest of them, and you know it."

He glared at me but didn't say anything back so I continued. "You know I bring death every where I go. I'm not saying what I did wasn't selfish, because I know it was. But I refuse to say that I'm sorry for it when I'm not. The only thing I'm sorry for is that I couldn't see one more person I love fall victim to the Maxwell curse."

He finally got some kind of emotion that wasn't anger to grace his face. It was kind of hard to decipher. It almost seemed like a mix between relief, regret, dotted with a tinge of sadness. With that expression, some of the guilt I'd been bottling up in myself over the years starting oozing out from wherever I'd hidden it in my heart. It stung kind of the way heart burn does.

"I know I should have said goodbye," I whispered. "But, it was just all too overwhelming. It was like I couldn't breath."

Heero finally sat down next to me, pulling out my cross and holding it tightly between his fingers. "It would have been fine," he mumbled, apparently not ready to look me in the eye. "We could have gotten work, an apartment somewhere. Even if neither of us were ready to be civilians it wouldn't have mattered. At least we would have been with someone who understood what it was like."

"You had the others," I supplied, hoping that maybe they'd provided him with some kind of support in the adjusting process.

He scoffed. "You know it's not the same. Everything would have been so easy. We were practically thrown jobs by the Preventers."

"There's no way I'd pass any of the intelligence tests needed to get into the Preventers, and you know I hate following protocol."

"You should have told me at least," he protested, finally lifting his head a bit to look at me, my cross still dangling from his fingers. "It's not like I had any idea what I was doing with my life anyway. If you were afraid of not being accepted we could have just done something else. I would have followed you anywhere, done anything you wanted to do with your life. All I wanted was for you to be in mine, that would have been enough to make any life livable."

"Killing is all I knew how to do, Heero," I began, running my hand through my bangs. They needed a trim, they were getting way too long.

He snorted in reply, setting up a bit and finally giving me a glance. "That's still all I know how to do. The only thing I've learned is how to fill out the paper work that goes along with it. I would have much rather been holed up with you somewhere," he paused for a moment. "Somewhere the rest of the world and the Maxwell curse would never find us."

I scoffed in reply. "Yeah right, Heero. As though the world would just suddenly accept pilot 01 disappearing off the face of the earth? You saved the world. We both know there are consequences that go along with that."

He didn't reply, and I'm proud to say it was because I had finally made a point that he couldn't somehow dispute.

"It's ridiculous to assume we would have lived happily ever after," I continued, his silence causing me to grow a fraction bolder. "Neither of us were even equipped to live in everyday society, what makes you think that we could have even lived together without someone getting killed?"

"Precisely that fact," he shot back. "Don't you get it? I didn't want to be alone anymore. I had another socially retarded soldier, whom I happened to fall in love with, in my sights. I didn't have anyone else. I didn't want anyone else. When you left, you left me," he pointed to his chest. "Alone, forever."

"I just," I began, trying to fish for the right words to say. "I just figured once I was gone you'd just move on. Finally give Relena a chance or something," I trailed off.

He let out an exasterbated sigh and threw in hands in the air. "Jesus, Duo. Why did you even bother leaving to just show up seven years later just so we can have the same fight over again."

"Can you really blame me? She's the Queen of the world that you saved. Who wouldn't want that kind of fairy tale ending?"

"Me!" He snapped back. "I didn't! And I never insinuated that I did! Why don't you stop making excuses and just admit that you got scared and decided to run and hide like you've done your whole fucking life."

I didn't really have a good response to that one. "If that's what you want," I mumbled softly, averting my eyes and grabbing the corner of the scratchy blanket they'd given me.

Heero let out a sigh that sounded something like a frustrated coyote would let out after an annoying road runner once again escaped from his clutches. We stared at each other for a bit before he finally decided to sit down again.

"I know it probably doesn't mean much," I began. "But I did miss you."

He merely scoffed in response, and didn't reply. I decided not to press the subject further. He obviously needed time to cool off and I was fairly certain that my talking wasn't doing him any favors in the process.

"What happens now," he finally asked. He had told me that the ball was in my court. I guess he was looking for something to plan around.

"Depends, I guess," I gave his arm a playful tap. "Any chance you think you can get me off on the murdering a witness charge?"

Leaning back in his chair he folded his arms behind his head and moaned. "My mind is racing way too much to even think about what's going to be done about that."

"He was kind of a baby about it," I offered.

"Oh?" He questioned. "And you wouldn't be a baby if you were about to be shot in the face?"

"Hell no," I responded, acting as though I were shocked at the very thought of it. "I've got class."

"The only thing you've got is a murder one charge."

I nodded slowly, he clearly wasn't in the mood to play. "Yeah."

Heero stared at me blankly. "I'll see what I can do about that. Why did you kill him anyway," he questioned, his stare now inquisitive. "Just so I wouldn't be able to find you?"

I sighed. "It runs deeper than that. Right now I'm in so much trouble that I don't even know where to start. I made a deal with someone on the condition that I never got caught. Hopefully this hasn't been made even more public than it already has been."

"I don't think it has," Heero interrupted, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees. "But I'm sure that news of someone breaking into HQ will circulate soon enough. What have you been into," he asked softly, moving closer to hush the conversation.

As I stared into Heero's eyes, I realized that there was no way I'd be able to lie to him like I had to Quatre. He's always had this acceptance of me, and at the moment I had no doubt that no matter what I had done in the past, or what my future held, that he'd be by my side, whether it was on the run, or in prison.

"I've been working for Une," I stated. "I've been killing for the Preventers."

Chapter 9 End

Next time? Consequences, consequences, consequences : ) And a little bit of forgiveness.


	10. Chapter 10

A.N. I forgot how much I really enjoy writing fan fiction. The mere fact that I'm an adult also helps, seeing as how I had absolutely no attention span as a child. I think I may stick to Duo's POV for a while unless anyone has a really strong objection to it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed : ) I'm glad I made some people happy by finishing this even if some of you are going "what the hell is going on in this fic..." I'm sorry . It has been a couple years, I'm still in the process of re-reading it myself, but I needed to finish it. Also I've gotten a review questioning the integrity of this work. It's anonymous so I can't reply in private like I'd like to because this may come out rude: I AM aware there is another fic out there almost identical to this one, because I wrote it first, and someone warned me of plagiarism, which is why I am finishing my fics. Check the dates. Sorry if that came out mean, but I'm _very_ bitter about the whole subject.

Summary: Post Endless Waltz, the pilots have all moved on, all keeping in touch except for Duo who now has a rather 'riskay' profession. A week before Christmas he is found by an unexpected someone. (By the way the unexpected someone isn't Trowa for all you confused people out there )

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing…if I did, the show would have been a lot yummier.

**Sunrise, Come Again.**

**Chapter 10**

By: cHix0r Neko

----------

"How could you let this happen?" Heero shot out, pacing back and forth in front of Une's desk like a caged lion or something. He was making me really nervous. I sat in my wheel chair behind Heero's pacing ground in the corner of Une's office, trying to stay out of their way and out of the line of fire. The second I'd been able to be checked out of the clinic with the promise of staying put and letting my legs and arms rest for a few weeks, Heero had rolled me directly to the elevator and up to Une's office. Honestly, with how he was going on about this, I'm surprised he'd been patient enough to wait for me to be present.

"This goes against everything the Preventer's stand for," he continued. "I don't understand."

"You know as well as I," Une began, sitting stiffly behind her desk as she glared at me. "That there are some people who make a lot of trouble for us, and we can't do a thing about it legally. That's where Duo came in. He took out the trash we were unable to."

I tried to look away as much as possible as the two of them talked, but her gaze was characteristic of a laser death ray, and it was boring into the side of my skull, trying to reach my brain and find out what had possessed me to go back on our bargain.

I sat patiently in the corner as I watched Heero stomp up and down the length of Une's desk, throwing his hands up occasionally for emphasis. I wondered if he knew he looked slightly crazy, and eventually decided that he didn't. He never would have allowed himself to look so goofy if he'd known about it. I wasn't sure what bothered him more, the fact that the Preventers organization had under the table dealings with assassins, or the fact that I had been right under his nose for seven years and he'd never figured it out. I'm going to say a little bit of both.

"What is going to be done about the witness," he decided to change tactics. "You can't just feed him to the press when you're the one who put him in this position!"

I felt my eyes widen of my own accord. I was still somewhat shocked that I wasn't the punching bag in this verbal fight, and that he didn't want me thrown in jail. Something that has always amazed me about Heero is his unfaltering loyalty. I stared at him and he glared and yelled in Une's face, but the words were muted as I tried to wrap my mind around what was actually happening. Heero was defending me, even after all I'd put him through.

"We don't plan to feed him to anyone," Une insisted, urging Heero to take a seat, extending her hand as she motioned to the chair in front of her desk. "But what is going to be done will have to be extreme. There just can't be no consequence for someone breaking into HQ and killing a witness."

"Understandable," Heero replied. He sat down but continued to fidget a lot, picking at the sides of the arm cushions and stuff of that nature.

"And you must believe that the higher ups and myself all take this matter very seriously. Duo has done magnificent work for this organization and we have no intention of losing his services to the law."

"You still want him to murder for you?" Came the incredulous reply.

"Of course," Une answered, as though it was the most obvious explanation in the world. "People as good as Duo don't come along everyday."

"I refuse to let you let him disappear again," he growled out. "If you try, I'll take this to the press myself."

I sighed to myself. That definitely sounded more characteristic. He would throw me in jail, but only if it was the only way he'd know where I was. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

"We can localize him," Une stated, and began ruffling around on her desk, looking for something, my documented kills probably, or at least whatever they'd decided to document. "Listen, Yuy, I know this hasn't been easy for you," Une began, finally finding what she'd been looking for. "But I need you to trust that I will take care of this. And I need to speak with Duo in private."

My eyes widened and my body stiffened. If I'd been able to move at the time, I would have wheeled myself right out of that office and off a cliff somewhere. Heero turned to me, his eyes questioning, and I urged my body to shake its head, to tell him to stay and protect me from this scary lady, but alas, it was frozen. Heero nodded at me and stood from the chair, ignoring the little yelp I made as he opened the door and walked out. Glancing back to Une, I cringed.

"Way to go Duo," she shot out.

I raised my hands next to my head in defense, cracking a nervous smile. "I'm sorry?" She didn't accept.

"Not only did you get caught on a job, but you came in and made an even bigger mess, and then decided to go all noble and fill Heero in on all the little details!?" Her voice sequentially got louder as she talked, and I pushed myself further back in my wheel chair.

"I've lied to him for seven years," I replied, once again not feeling sorry, and I hope that it reflected in my voice. "You of all people should know what that did to him. You had to watch it. I couldn't just keep lying to him. He found me fair and square."

Une stiffened in her chair, running her hands along it's arm rests. She didn't respond for a while. "I'm not sure shooting you is fair, though with the distinct circumstances of your relationship I assume it was a square action."

I chuckled nervously. "Yeah, it was kind of."

"Duo," Une said, picking up the folder she'd been looking for and sliding it over to me. "I didn't want Yuy in here while I made you this offer, because regardless of your feelings for him, this is your decision."

I nodded, fully understanding. Had Heero been in the room and her offer had been, per say, to hide out in a cave somewhere for ten years and wait for this to blow over, I'm sure there would be a gun to my head until I declined, and put it in writing.

"Word has already leaked to the press about this, so there's no way you're going to come out of this unscathed. We have to give them something, and some kind of legal action has to come from this, or the entire integrity of this organization could be jeopardized."

For the first time, I was actually concerned that I was about to be thrown in jail. "Exactly what are you trying to say?" I inquired, my eyes squinting a bit at her. "Are you going to feed me to the press?"

"In a manner of speaking," she replied. "The legal action that the rest of the higher ups and I have decided to take is the death of Duo Maxwell."

I immediately wheeled further into the corner and looked around the room for any kind of booby trap or weapon I had not seen on the way in. Panic filled my body at the thought that maybe Heero leaving was just a clever way to say I'd died from my injuries, when really I'd been smothered by a pillow or beaten to death with a file folder or something.

"Not literally, Maxwell," she replied, rolling her eyes. "We are going to tell the press that you were killed by Yuy, which will not only take care of this problem, but will also gain good faith in the Preventers. I'm sure people will feel comfortable knowing that we have a former pilot who would kill his comrade to protect the Earth Sphere if he ever turned rogue."

"You're going to tell everyone I turned rogue?" I asked incredulously.

"Didn't you?" I guess in a way I had, but I really didn't like the wording of it.

I had to give it to her, the idea was clever, just not so much for my personal reputation. "Fine," I responded. "Then what happens to me?"

"Legally?" She asked. "You die. Illegally? You work for me off the books, this time for real. You won't even technically be alive, which will hopefully take care of anymore of these little problems."

"So nothing really changes?"

She shifted behind her desk uncomfortably. "There will have to be some technical adjustments."

-----------------

"Technical adjustments? Um, yeah, you can suck my cock, Une," I nastily shot out, giving a nice little gesture to go along with the offer, as Heero pony tailed off my hair.

"I'm not sure she'd appreciate that," he replied, softly chuckling. A moment later he changed his tone, his smile, while still there, turning slightly sadder. "You realize that all this could have been avoided..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I mumbled, cutting him off and pulling my hair over my shoulder. This was such bull shit. Such bull shit. "But I don't think that you would have appreciated me being thrown in jail or hiding out for a few more years."

He paused. "I suppose not."

I ran my fingers through the length of my hair and let out a long, sad, sigh. I'd had a lot of memories with this hair. Despite the fact that I would never admit this out loud, but I knew this had to be done. There's no way I could just start walking around on the streets with that kind of hair and have people not recognize me. The news had been on and on about it for almost two full days, and there was no sign of it letting up anytime soon.

Heero had issued a public statement. He'd told the world that he hated to kill a comrade, especially one who had done so much for peace during the war, but it needed to be done in order to maintain public order. After all, I'd gone rogue, who knew what else I'd get into if I was kept alive. Relena too made a statement, pretty much saying the same thing but a little more diplomatic. She talked about what a difference I had made in the world and how it was horrible that someone who had done so much good could have been so turned from the ideals of peace. I scoffed when I heard that. Hopefully they'd never fill her in to the fact that I was still alive so I'd never have to speak with that air head again.

I'd been staying in the hospital wing of HQ for almost a week and a half now, constantly being monitored and being forced into bed rest by my own personal nurse: Heero. He hadn't left my side the entire time. He slept in the chair next to my bed, played a couple board games with me, read me a few books. It was strange, but as the days past it seemed as though he was completely willing to forget that the past seven years had even happened. While I was happy to be back in that place with him again, it also scared me. Sometimes I'd wake up in the middle of the night to find him staring at me. Neither of us would say anything, we'd just stare until one of us inevitably fell back to sleep. In the back of my mind, I wondered if he'd ever trust me to be alone again. I wondered he stayed because he thought he'd almost killed me, or if he thought I'd leave him again.

"Do you want to do it? Or you want me to?" Heero finally asked, reaching over my shoulder and dangling a pair of hefty scissors in front of me. I looked at them for a moment, before taking them into my hand. My reflection looked distorted in its shiny metal finish. My throat went dry, and I coughed a little before handing the scissors back to Heero.

"You do it," I stated, closing my eyes tightly as he hesitantly took them back from me. "Do it quick."

I cringed at the sound of the metal scraping against metal as he opened the scissors, sweat accumulating on my brow as he lifted my pony tail.

"Oh god," I mumbled, rubbing my hands over my face. The slight pressure and sound of him cutting the thick bunch of hair was too much, and I groaned more and more as the sound continued, until it abruptly ended.

"Its done," he said softly.

We remained silent for a moment. I lifted my head and felt my hair brush against my neck in a way I haven't felt since I was little kid. It was horrible.

"Do you want to keep it?" He asked hesitantly, holding my hair in his hand as he moved to sit down in front of me. I stared horrified at the long brown strands he held. It was like staring at an appendage that had just been blown off. You recognize it as your own, but aren't horrified until it's really sunk in.

"No," I mumbled. "No, no, no! Get rid of it!"

Heero abruptly stood and threw the symbolism of all my memories into the garbage, as I folded in on myself, using my good arm to clutch at my side. I didn't think it would hurt so bad.

A second later I felt myself encompassed by strong, warm arms. Heero didn't say anything as I clutched him to my body as best as I could being in that stupid wheel chair. That was another thing I'd always liked about Heero, he always knew when not to push. When you needed him to be there, he was, but he wasn't about to talk unless you needed him to. At the time, I wasn't ready to talk.

The hair against my neck made me feel hot, and uncomfortable. It was a stifling heat and I knew that I had to get rid of the rest of it. Certain memories couldn't be allowed to stay while others had been chopped away.

I pushed my hand against Heero's chest, and hesitantly, he let go. "Get rid of the rest of it," I mumbled. He nodded, picking up the scissors and moved behind me.

I sat there patiently, sweating, cringing with each hair that fell past my shoulders, and hit the floor. It was unbearable, and the whole ordeal felt as though it lasted a lifetime.

When we were done, I didn't even recognize myself.

Chapter 10 End

I'm going to skip the rest of Duo's injury and head straight into his "new" work with Preventers.


	11. Chapter 11

A.N. I had intended this to be the last chapter for this story. I'm skipping ahead in time, because I don't want to drag something out when I feel it's time to wrap it up (and the fact that I want to finish my other fics next). If anyone REALLY doesn't like this ending, I will consider writing an epilogue. This last part is Heero's POV. Also sorry, I know a lot of you are attached to Duo's braid : ) I'm not.

Summary: Post Endless Waltz, the pilots have all moved on, all keeping in touch except for Duo who now has a rather 'riskay' profession. A week before Christmas he is found by an unexpected someone. (By the way the unexpected someone isn't Trowa for all you confused people out there )

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing…if I did, the show would have been a lot yummier.

**Sunrise, Come Again.**

**Chapter 11**

By: cHix0r Neko

-------

In all honesty, I don't have a hard time watching him leave. I've seen Duo off on numerous of his "missions" and have never had a difficult time saying goodbye. It's waiting for him to come home.

Sometimes the Preventers throw him on a public shuttle, sometimes private, and waiting for him at the space port is the hardest thing about him leaving. There's always that brief moment of panic when I'm unable to recognize him, his short hair still throws me off. It's in those moments when I wonder about my future with him.

Sometimes he's gone for weeks at a time. I'm usually okay for the first two, but as the third begins ending, I can't help but question whether or not he's really on the mission. Each second that passes as I wait at the shuttle gate is another second that fills my head with the idea of him running away. That all this is just some elaborate guise so that he can leave me again.

Sometimes it keeps me up at night with worry. After contemplating all the ways he could, and would in my opinion, run away, I feel guilty when I think about the other possibility. What if he's hurt? What if he can't make it home? What if he's trying to call me right now to tell me he loves me with his last breath and his cell phone is dying? There are so many what ifs.

He's been back, healed, and sent out on various missions in the past year. Probably the first couple months were the most unbearable, when he was still in the healing process and couldn't do much about it. Bed rest has always frustrated him, which in turn leads him to frustrate me. Somethings never change, and he still believes his will power should be enough to heal him.

It was strange how we fell into the old routines so quickly. For a time, we pretty much pretended that nothing had happened. We just decided to agree to live as though Duo and I had been living together for those years he'd been missing. While I was happy, I knew there would eventually have to be a big, sour, disgusting conversation where we'd really talk about the whole situations, and the impact that it has had on our "relationship."

Honestly, I'm not really sure you could call what we have a relationship. It's more like a close friendship that we both know has the potential to be more, but we can't really find a way to bridge the gap. Well, I should rephrase. I knew exactly what needed to be done to bridge the gap, but never expected it to happen.

Duo and I have kissed one time since he's been back. Despite living together, when we go home, we eat our dinner, and then eventually go to bed. That's it. We don't really do much of anything that's sexual in nature. Unless you count cuddling.

It's hard to count cuddling as something sexual when we had such a steamy sex life as teenagers, but that's what we'd been reduced to.

Every night we always end up in the same position, with me spooning him against my body. When we were kids we'd usually start out that way, but eventually make our way to each side of the bed as we shifted naturally through the night. Now, I held him tightly against me until 7 a.m. when I had to get up for work. So tight I've given him bruises.

Quatre says it's a trust issue, and that while I'll have to talk to him about it eventually, I shouldn't worry too much. Being abandoned after you tell someone you love them is bound to have consequences on the trust of the relationship, he'd told me. Just look at what Duo's past has done to him. He truly believes that leaving you saved your life.

At the time, I'd nodded, but didn't really believe it. Maybe it wasn't so much that I didn't believe it, as much as I really didn't want to. I also didn't want to admit that I couldn't get over my trust issue. I was sure that I was more than capable of having a relationship with a person I was constantly afraid of leaving me, and to prove that fact I went home and grabbed Duo's face in my hands and kissed him for the first time he'd gotten back. I was shocked that it was so uncomfortable, and felt so wrong. He'd been hurt by my reaction, and now I wasn't so sure I didn't have some kind of trust issue with him.

Luckily enough, he never pressed for information.

I think the problem was that I had no idea whether or not Duo really wanted to be with me. Maybe he just wanted to stay with me to alleviate some of the guilt he'd accumulated when he'd left. I didn't know, and the fact of the matter was, I had no idea how he felt about me. He never told me.

So far, we're more than okay with pretending that everything is alright between the two of us, regardless of whether or not it is. A lot of the time it's easier to pretend when he's on a mission, like he is now.

Ever since Duo's return we've all made it a point to have a meal together at least once a week so that none of us ever drift away the way Duo had. This way, we'd all notice if someone didn't show up, and it would never be able to leak into years of absence again. All in all, the idea had been rather clever.

Even when Duo couldn't join us, we still tried to meet. Those were the hardest times, because it reminded me so much of when he had been gone. It just served as a way to increase my fear that he wasn't really on a mission.

"When's Duo due back again?" One of the guys would ask, and I'd turn pale, and start to sweat as I rattled off whatever date it was. I felt pathetic, and in all honestly, I probably was. I never thought of myself as the type of person to need verbal clarification of a person's desire for me. Guess what they say is true, you learn something new everyday.

Last night at dinner Duo was barely even mentioned, and that was just fine with me. However, after a nice meal at the local bar we usually met up in, Wufei asked me to stay and have a few drinks with him as Trowa and Quatre began putting on their coats. I'd been in the process of the doing the same thing, eagerly wanting to go home and wait for Duo, whom I was expecting to return home in less than eight hours.

I watched Quatre wave at me from the door as he followed after Trowa. I gave a slight wave back as I pulled out my chair and sat back down next to Wufei.

Four tall beers later I found myself with my head down on the table confessing all my Duo fears to Wufei, and he, in turn, admitted to being terrified of having a baby with Sally. I was afraid Duo would leave. He was afraid he'd accidently kill they baby.

By the time I finally made it home, I was more than a little tipsy and my pockets were considerably lighter from the extra drinks and taking a cab home. But beyond that, I was completely and utterly confused. What if nothing was ever able to break this domestic mold Duo and I had fallen into? Did I really want to be stuck in the relationship that wasn't for the rest of my life? I'd finally become more socially adjusted, I could date if I wanted to. Now that Duo was back, would he stay? Did I want him to? I couldn't stop asking myself these questions and I wondered whether or not I was gaining anything from him besides an abandonment complex.

The problem with saying I love you to someone, is the fact that if you don't get the I love you return, the relationship is doomed. This is where things got confusing for me. Duo had never specifically said that he loved me. His leaving may have hinted at it, but honestly, I didn't think I could ever be sure until I heard those words from him, and I doubted that it would ever happen.

When he came home, I was sprawled out on the couch. I woke up as he opened the door, and sat up to see him close it and set down his duffle bag. He was home early. We stared at each other for a moment before either of us spoke.

"Why are you on the couch?" He asked cautiously. I was not the type to do things out of the ordinary, and for me, falling asleep on the couch definitely fell under that category.

It took a moment for me to register what he had said, and I was about to answer when I noticed something rather interesting about his attire. "Why are you covered in blood?"

He looked down at the deep red stains across his shirt, and folded his arms across his chest to try to hide them. "It's not my blood, don't worry."

"I wasn't." It came out a lot more harsh than I had intended it to, that much was evident from the look of hurt that spilled onto Duo's face. "If it was your blood, you wouldn't have come home. But who knows why you do that anyway," I mumbled, laying back down on the couch as my words sprawled together. I'm shocked he could even make it out.

"Are you drunk?" He asked incredulously, walking over to me. I just nodded in reply. I certainly wasn't in my right mindset, if he wanted to label it as drunk, that was fine with me. "Heero what's wrong with you?" He took a step closer and looked down at me. I lifted my arm to keep him away, sitting up on the couch and huddling up in the corner.

"Don't come near me with all that blood," I slurred. "It might as well be my blood. I won't let you rip my heart out again."

"Heero, what are you trying to say?"

I honestly wasn't really sure. It was all a fuzzy mix of Oberon and Labatt. I don't even really remember what happened after that. I do know that when I woke up I was alone, and Duo's bag was still laying by the door. I grabbed the end table clock, almost five a.m. What the hell had I done.

I shot off the couch instantly, heading for the closet and slamming the door open. Bad idea, my head was now pounding from the sudden loud noise. Remind me to never drink again.

Rushing out the door, I slammed it shut behind me and once again cringed. It locked behind me and I took off towards the stairs, knowing that there was no way I would be patient enough for the elevator. I had no idea when Duo had gotten home, so he could have been anywhere at that point.

I almost tripped several times during my trip down the stairs. Partially from the alcohol I'm sure, but partially from my desperation. Duo was gone, and this time it was my fault.

I ran all around town search for him. I found him on my way home. He was sitting on the bench outside of our house.

"You came back?" I huffed out, wiping some of the sweat from my forehead.

He shrugged slightly, keeping his eyes fixated on the ground. "I needed my stuff."

"Why didn't you go in?"

He hesitated and looked up at me through his bangs. "Left my key when I left. The door's locked."

Never before have I been so relieved that he's so forgetful when he's panicked.

"Why did you leave?"

Duo looked at me with this kind of shocked expression. "You told me to."

I rolled my eyes. "You realize that I was drunk when I said that right?"

"Everyone says honest things when they're drunk. You told me to go," he stood up and put his hands in his pockets.

"There is no way to judge if that saying applies to me," I stated. "I've been drunk maybe three times in my entire life, and two of them I was by myself."

Duo raised an eyebrow, clearly wanting me to elaborate, but I stood firm in my resolve. I didn't want to guilt him anymore by telling him that it was during those first couple weeks of his initial absence.

"Give me a chance to explain," I finally stated, watching as Duo let out a deep sigh as he plopped back down onto the bench. The sun was starting to come up.

"Fine," he muttered. "But I'm not really sure what needs explaining."

"Actually, there's a lot," I said. "On both ends." Suddenly he looked nervous.

"When you left, you took a lot of things with you. One of those things was my trust in you. In the war, I trusted you with my life. Now? I have a hard enough time believing that you're actually on a mission when you say you are."

He scoffed and opened his jacket slightly to show me the blood stains. "Well, I clearly was this time."

"But how am I supposed to know that?" I cut in. "How should I know if what seems to be an extended mission is actually you running away again?"

"I'm done running," he said softly. "I thought you knew that."

"I don't really know anytime about you," I replied, staring out at the hazy sky. It was starting to get an orangish tint. "That's the problem. What are we?"

"What do you mean?" Duo asked, looking over at me, his gaze questioning.

"I mean what are we? Are we lovers? Are we friends? Roommates? I can't figure out anything about us anymore. I don't even know if this can be fixed, or even if we should try."

"So you do want me to leave?" Duo mumbled, averting his eyes.

I was torn. I wanted Duo, but this just seemed too hard, and after waiting seven years for Duo to come back, I wasn't sure that I wanted to waste anymore of my time.

"Is this going anywhere?"

"I thought we already were somewhere."

I paused. "I don't know if I can trust you. If I can't trust you, nothing can come from this."

We turned away from each other and turned to face the sunrise. It leaked pink and orange hues into the horizon.

"I don't want this to be over," Duo whispered to himself, rubbing his face with his hands. "I can't believe this is happening."

"I can't really either," I mumbled, staring out into the sunrise. I'd waited for years to be with Duo and suddenly I was willing to throw it all away for some stupid anxiety disorder and three little words. "But we can't go on like this."

"No," Duo mumbled. "I suppose we can't."

I looked over at Duo with sad eyes. He looked horrible. For a moment I felt like a complete jack ass for doing this to him as soon as he'd gotten back from a mission. He looked haggard and worn.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and he turned to look at me. He had dark circles under his eyes, and there was some distinct puffiness to his bottom lip. Once he had judged that my concern was genuine, he turned away.

"I tailed this guy for two weeks. I followed him everywhere. I learned his daily routine and he still managed to get the jump on me," he sighed, leaning back to look at his shirt. "This is his blood. I honestly never thought I'd need to defend myself in a knife fight again. That's what I carry a gun for."

I nodded at his statement, but I'm not sure he was really paying attention to me. It seemed more like he was in a trance, just mindlessly reciting what had happened.

"When he came at me from behind, I thought about you. I thought about how pissed you'd been when I didn't come back. I figured you'd think I just took off, and curse me forever, and this time it wouldn't have even been my fault," he trailed off.

"Would you have even cared?" I asked hesitantly. "If I did curse you forever?"

He let out a dark chuckle. "I thought I made that clear when I came back," he said, looking down at his shirt once again. "It wasn't exactly easy to do so."

"How do you feel about me, Duo?" I asked point blank. The time for games was over. We'd wasted enough time pretending.

He looked scared for a moment before answering. "You know how I feel."

"No I don't," I answered quickly. "I need you to tell me. You may be afraid of death, but I'm not, Duo. I need to hear you say it. How do you feel about me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He started, idly running his hands through his hair. "I love you."

I reached over and took his hand into my own and gave it a squeeze, almost laughing at the mortified look that was now plastered on his face. "Do you mean it?" I asked, looking over at him with a small smile.

He nodded, his mouth pursed tightly. "That's the problem. You'll be an easy target for death now."

My smile kept growing of its own accord. "I don't care," I responded, standing up and reaching down to him. He stared at my hand for a moment before placing his hand in mine, and allowed himself to be pulled up. I lead him to the doorway of our apartment building, and placed my hand under his chin. "Say it again," I demanded.

This time, a little smile cracked onto his face. "I love you," he repeated quickly, and then looked around nervously.

I laughed. "What are you looking for?"

"Any kind of sharp object you might get impaled on," he answered honestly.

"I'll be extra careful from now on," I told him before I raised his chin and placed my lips softly to his. For all I cared, I could have been a giant bulls eye. There was nothing in the world that could have ruined that sunrise.

End

If I do an epilogue, this is a preview of what it will be like for anyone who is interested:

"I still don't understand this pea pod thing," Trowa mumbled, taking another sip of his beer.

"No, no, no!" Wufei yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "String bean is not characteristic of him at all! String beans are long and skinny, see this?" He asked, coming over to me and running his hands up and down the air in front of my torso. "He's not long at all! He's tiny! Like a pea pod!"


End file.
